There was a lot that drew me in to seeing 'Downsizing' in the first place. The trailer looked good, the concept was one of the most fascinating and ambitious ones of the years and for any film seen in a while, there are some truly talented actors on board and really like Alexander Payne's previous work (especially 'Sideways').
'Downsizing' is far from being one of the year's worst, in a year with a fair share of bad films. Certainly didn't think it was that bad. At the same time, a huge part of me was expecting so much more. It looked so good and the potential was enormous, but it is one of the year's most disappointing (one of those films that should have worked) and one of the biggest wastes of potential in recent memory. As far as Alexander Payne's films go, 'Downsizing' may be his most ambitious and conceptually original film but it's also his worst by quite some way.
It's not all bad. The film looks great throughout, being both stylish and audacious. The first half is very promising and well done with some fascinating ideas. There is Payne's trademark wit and warmth evident, and there is some nice insight and satirising and human relationships and real world issues.
Matt Damon carries the lead role well, not one of his best performances but he is well suited to the material and engages nicely with it.
Christoph Waltz (in a departure role) and especially Hong Chau bring fun and energy to the pretty much only colourful roles of the film, sadly that is saying a lot.
It is a shame that 'Downsizing' didn't live up to the trailer. As good as the trailer was on its own it was also very misleading, and made the film much more interesting, bold and original than it actually turned out to be. The first half was promising and good, the second half takes a complete 180 with a jarring change of tone that abandons the concept and completely forgets what was set up before.
Wit is replaced by clumsiness and a preachy tone and warmth is replaced with a clinical coldness and dumbing down. It no longer becomes insightful or fun to watch, and the talking down to the audience feels completely misplaced and leaves a bad taste in the mouth. The more melancholic edge in other places is cloying and doesn't connect emotionally. The story badly meanders, both in increasingly sluggish pacing and coherence where things get confusing and increasingly nonsensical.
Of the supporting characters, only those of Waltz and Chau are memorable or used well. The others have far too little screen time in sketchily developed roles, Kristin Wigg, Jason Sudeikis and Udo Kier were on paper perfect for this film and should have worked here but their talents are completely wasted as characters either underwritten and underused (Wiig and Sudeikis) or just off kilter strange (Kier). Payne's direction is uneven, the first half is distinctive Payne while the second half could have easily been mistaken for any other director.
To conclude, not awful but a big disappointment. Potential was enormous, the execution downsizes even more than its shrunken characters far too early. 5/10 Bethany Cox
