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Friday, May 3, 2024
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HOLLYWOOD DOWNSIZING
EDITOR'S PICK
‘Downsizing' is worse than bad, it's bland (Review By Subhash K. Jha ; Rating: **)
It is heartbreaking to see so much earnestness being squandered away in
inertia. "Downsizing" is a well-meaning jibe at global devastation done in a
tone so steeped in righteous indignation, I thought I was watching an
evangelical propaganda film with angels and fairies flapping their invisible
wings into the fuzzy camera lenses.
Director Alexander Payne, no stranger to tall tales about short-term
beneficiaries messing up with their game plans, here goes for the whole mood of
ecological regret with a heartbreaking earnestness. As a piece of propaganda on
how we can save civilization, "Downsizing" has an in-eradicable cuteness at its
heart which is borderline annoying.
The plot is constantly cloying, as our protagonist Paul (Matt Damon, looking so
detached from the goings-on, he could be the most reluctant inaction hero in the
history of cinema) decides to go for a ‘downsizing' procedure that would reduce
him and his wife (Kristen Wiig) to 20 times smaller than their normal size.
The benefits of downsizing are explained in what could easily have been devilish
digs at governmental control of our destiny (we all know what that feels like).
But no. Director Alexander Payne, so inured in enchanting ambiguities in his
2005 film "Sideways", means every word his characters utter. They are good
people caught in a catastrophic situation.
We get that.
This is a work filled wth invisible conffetti dropping from heaven in every
frame. The only time it gets close to being remotely mischievous is when Damon's
wife chickens out of the downsizing procedure at the last minute leaving him
fuming and desolate in a la-la land where 5-inch human beings live in 5-star
luxury.
The etherized environment halts only when a Vietnamese downsized refugee played
by Hong Chau, with the most grating singsong South Asian accent ever heard in
cinema, joins hands with Damon to help, nurse and feed the poor. Hong Chau
orders Damon around as if she was taking revenge on all the wrongs that Harvey
Weinstein had done to all the women in the entertainment business.
All through this dreadfully self-righteous film, I felt there was a catch
somewhere. Maybe I was missing the point? But then with a jolt of awakening, I
realized the whole point of the shrinking exercize is to spotlight man-made
catastrophes as weighed against cinema's ability to alchemize and assuage the
pain of everyday existence.
"Downsizing" tries to elevate the process of shrinking human beings by imbuing a
moral edification to the process of shrinking humans physically. Sorry, I saw no
joy in becoming smaller to save humanity. How about saving us from having to
watch such joyless excursions into la la land?
'Downsizing': A strangely complex masterpiece (Review By Troy Ribeiro, Rating: ***1/2)
"Downsizing" is a strikingly intelligent concept film.
A romance and self-realisation tale wrapped in a sci-fi film that makes you
aware of environmental issues is what definitely makes it unique fare. It is a
social satire wrapped in a sci-fi movie that does not, for a second, look and
feel like one.
Nevertheless, the film achieves a strange harmony from its assorted thematic
ingredients and certainly produces unexpected and compelling surges of emotion
at odd moments.
Dealing with the long-term viability of humanity's existence on this planet, the
scientists at Edwardsen Institute in Norway hit upon a perfect process of
shrinking human beings to the height of 5 inches. According to them, these
shrunken people need much fewer resources and would thus be able to save our
planet's resources.
Fifteen years after the invention which is an irreversible process,
physiotherapist Paul Safranek (Matt Damon) and his wife Audrey, a struggling
American couple unhappy with their financial status, during an alumni meet, get
inspired by their classmates Dave and Carol Johnson, who have "downsized".
Believing that their lives would be enhanced if they were to shrink themselves
and be transferred to the new world call Leisureland, Paul and Audrey decide to
take the plunge.
Of course, complications ensue, including marital strife and Paul's discovery
that all is not quite what is seems in his new environment.
Disappointed and dejected in Liesureland, Paul leads a staid life. So when Dusan
(Christoph Waltz), his upstairs neighbour -- an opportunist who, along with his
friend Kondrad (Udo Kier) makes money by importing miniaturized versions of
Cigars and other such luxury items -- invites him to a house party, he
reluctantly accepts the invitation.
After the party, Paul by chance meets a Vietnamese political activist named Ngoc
Lan Tran (Hong Chau). Seeing her walk with a faulty prosthetic foot, he
befriends her. He then gets fascinated with her struggle. How she then changes
his entire life and worldview, forms the crux of the tale.
Despite its meandering pace and unassuming plot, the film at no specific point
goes off the rails. The initial first hour definitely drags. Once the narrative
picks up momentum in the second half, there is no looking back. You don't expect
the film to take a dramatic turn but it really will have you thinking hard about
the world we live in.
The third act, though predictable and incredibly ambitious, is eye-opening and
lands the film where it strives to be.
On many accounts, this is an impressive film. Among them is the astounding
performance by Hong Chau. She comes in at the halfway mark and just takes over
completely, single-handedly elevating the film with her tragic, comic, caustic
and lovable character Ngoc.
At no point do you laugh at her status, ethnicity or broken English. Yet you
laugh because she is a force of nature that blows away the pretensions of others
-- which she does with her straight yet unexpected nature and honest,
cut-the-chase communication.
Matt Damon as the dull lead who goes on a journey of discovery is serviceable
and the fault lies not with his performance. The problem is with the writing.
Paul remains a bore from the beginning to the end.
Christoph Waltz does justice as the flamboyant Dusan. He is intriguing, but with
a half-baked character, he is lost in the narrative.
From a technical standpoint, the film is almost flawless. The production and
sound designs, costumes, visual effects, cinematography and editing are all
immaculate.
Overall, "Downsizing" is a complex masterpiece which is convincing but not
unfamiliar.
When scientists discover how to shrink humans to five inches tall as a solution to over-population, Paul (Matt Damon) and his wife Audrey (Kristen Wiig) decide to abandon their stressed lives in order to get small and move to a new downsized community-a choice that triggers life-changing adventures.
