ICYMI: My earlier review of Downsizing from this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, originally found here.
Synopsis: A social satire in which a guy realizes he would have a better life if he were to shrink himself. (IMDB)
Starring: Matt Damon, Christoph Waltz, and Hong Chau
Writers: Alexander Payne, Jim Taylor
Director: Alexander Payne
Rating: 14A (Canada)/R (United States)
Running Time: 135mins
Trailer:
For showtimes and more, check out Downsizing on movietimes.com.
For those complaining about films not being original, take a look at this one. Most science-fiction is somewhat rooted in reality and this was the case here. With overpopulation contributing to global warming and other ecological problems, scientists have come up with a solution. What if we shrink ourselves so small to reduce our consumption? It’s a silly premise but the film knows that and doesn’t play it too seriously and was better for it. The film follows a middle-class couple named Paul (Damon) and Audrey Safranek (Kristen Wiig) who, looking for a fresh start, decide to undergo the procedure to shrink themselves, also called downsizing.
Abandoned by his wife, Paul is forced to fend for himself in this new miniaturized world. This new miniaturized world may seem like a perfect world but it has the same problems as our regular-sized world. Things change for Paul once he meets a cleaner named Gong Jiang (Chau), a one-legged Vietnamese dissident, who offered Paul a new perspective on life. Chau was the best part of the film with Jiang acting as its heart. Her energy and personality led her to steal almost every scene she was in. She has gotten a lot of buzz for her performance and it is deserved. Damon and Christoph Waltz were great as the lovable loser Paul and Paul’s shady neighbor Dusan respectively.
Overall, this was an original, fun to watch sci-fi dramedy that never took itself too seriously and features great performances all around.
Score: 9/10
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The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.