December 22, 2017



R: December 22nd, 2017 | R: 135 minutes | R: R

Downsizing is a new lifestyle discovered by scientist, where anyone can be shrunk down to about five inches tall. It was created as a solution to overpopulation. As a draw to downsize, your money and property will significantly grow in value. But when happy couple Paul (played by Matt Damon) and Audrey (played by Kristen Wiig) go to downsize, Audrey bails on the procedure leaving Paul alone in leisureland.

Downsizing was written and directed by Alexander Payne (who has previously directed “Sideways” and “Nebraska”) and stars Matt Damon (previously seen in “The Martian” and “Good Will Hunting”). Unfortunately I was very disappointed in this film. The concept of downsizing is very interesting and the director put quite a bit of thought into it. Where the problem arises is the story. It just goes all over the place and does not have a sense of direction. This film is also very awkward for the first half...I am not really sure why, but the dialogue is awkward and weird in the beginning. This movie is also way too long with a two hour and fifteen minute runtime, it could have easily been cut down to an hour and a half. And what is very surprising is the movie has a lot of filler that could have easily been cut. The filler is incredibly boring and during many moments of the film, I was left questioning what I was watching on screen.

I really did not enjoy this film, but what I can praise all the thought behind the process downsizing. It was interesting to see how this scientific event affected the economy and wall between the small people and big people. And Matt Damon did not give a bad performance, I think he was just confused with what was trying to be accomplished.

Overall Downsizing is a major let down. It goes in directions that it did not need to go and has so much filler that it feels like a flavorless mess. I really can not recommend this film to anyone because I was only enjoying the film for the first ten minutes.

Rating: 2 out of 5


Cabell Cabell (Contributor) is a filmmaker from Tampa, Florida. He will watch just about any film but when he's not reviewing the latest hits he spends time directing films of his own.
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