After watching this film and then seeing the low rating for it I was really surprised, did I see the same movie ? this could have been a silly film about being small in a big world a bad borrowers concept maybe? I saw an interesting and emotional drama about an under achieved man , Paul (Matt Damon) looking for a better life, he is betrayed by the one person he wanted an improved life with. There is a message about mankind here too , our planet is overpopulated and we need to find a solution, the downsizing concept actually makes a lot of sense. As usual in the real world good ideas can be abused in the wrong hands or turned against humanity. Big or small there will always be a class system, winners and losers . Ok the film is far from perfect and loses its way a bit in the second half with the under explored imminent catastrophe angle. The quirkiness highlights come in the Vietnamese girl , Ngoc Lan Tran (Hong Chou) who takes over Pauls disappointing new life and his neighbour Dusan (Christoph Waltz) who adds a new spark, together they give Paul new purpose, a chance to make up for unfulfilled aspirations, at the end of the day what do we all want out of life ?

Greetings from Lithuania.

"Downsizing" (2017) could have easily been made by Charlie Kaufman and Spike Jonze. Yet it was directed and partly written by one of my all time favorite Alexander Payne. I was kinda expecting to be this movie great, and i highly enjoyed the final production, yet if they could have gone trough a bit different pat near the ending, this movie could have been brilliant.

Christoph Waltz stole every scene he was in. I also liked casting of Udo Kier (such a cult actor). Others were good, but except of Hong Chau as well (great performance) - nothing that memorable.

The premise of this movie and story along were really original and fresh. The story is probably not for everyone, you kinda have to leave your disbelieve outside before watching this movie.

Overall, "Downsizing" in my opinion was highly underrated movie. It flopped at the box office, and overall reactions were mixed. But if you want to see something made "outside of the box" yet very entertaining as well - "Downsizing" won't disappoint you as long as you simple go with it.

When Norwegian scientists develop a means to shrink living things down to miniature size, with the average human standing only 5 inches tall, the world sees it as great new opportunity. "Downsized" people use less resources, take up less space, and have a smaller impact on the environment. As an added bonus, their "full-size" bank accounts translate to vastly more wealth at smaller size, since less material is needed to build dream mansions or create fabulous jewelry. Within a decade, "downsized" towns are springing up around the world, and middle-class Nebraskans Paul (Matt Damon) and Audrey (Kristen Wiig) make the decision to join the "little people". However, when complications ensue, Paul finds his worldview shattered, and he's left looking for new direction in his life.

Director Alexander Payne (Election, Sideways, The Descendants, Nebraska) has a knack for character and the human condition. This movie, easily his biggest budgeted effort due to the special effects involved, loses a little of that thanks to the film's ambitions and the overreaching scope of the story. Payne seems to making some points about the lengths people will go to in hopes of achieving the upper class dream of many Americans, with the big house and country club aesthetics. Payne also spends time on the danger of climate change, and the last section of the film takes this to apocalyptic levels. Whether he's exaggerating for effect, comic or otherwise, he doesn't make clear, but it's also possible that he's being sincere in his fears. Damon serves his purpose well, as he's called on mainly to be a blank slate, a rather empty man looking for meaning in the world.

The stand-out performances are from Christopher Waltz as Damon's obnoxious neighbor, and especially Hong Chau as a one-legged Vietnamese former political dissident turned janitorial worker. She's phenomenal, and should have nabbed a supporting Oscar nomination. The movie was a flop with both critics and the box office, but I liked it, and continue to look forward to Payne's work.