Review of Downsizing (2017) by Wayne K — 28 Mar 2018

Being a huge fan of Alexander Payne, I was very excited to see Downsizing. Not only was it helmed by one of my favourite directors, it also had a fascinating premise and looked like nothing I'd seen before.

Aside from The Borrowers of course. When the movie ended I felt like I'd seen a talented piece of work, but nothing close to what it could have been, and definitely not among Mr. Payne's best.

The cast is filled with great talent, the film full of visual brilliance, yet its very concept is woefully unexplored. It makes some interesting points about our environment and how something must be done before we destroy our planet, and subsequently ourselves.

But the film quickly forgets that its supposed to be a social satire and settles instead for being a by-the-numbers romance. I had a hard time deciding whether or not I liked Hong Chau's performance.

It's strong and dramatic for sure, but there was something so routine and familiar in what her character is required to do. She could have been removed from the film and most of it would happen exactly the same way without her.

Matt Damon makes for a likable lead, but he's done much better work elsewhere. It's not dreadful, and there's enough wry humour to demonstrate that Payne and Taylor can still wring comedy out of any situation, but with a squandered concept and an artificially happy ending, downsizing just doesn't live up to its potential, though it's unfair to say that it didn't try.