‎Downsizing (2017) directed by Alexander Payne • Reviews, film + cast • Letterboxd

Downsizing

2017 Directed by Alexander Payne

We are meant for something bigger.

A kindly occupational therapist undergoes a new procedure to be shrunken to four inches tall so that he and his wife can help save the planet and afford a nice lifestyle at the same time.

Matt Damon Christoph Waltz Hong Chau Kristen Wiig Rolf Lassgård Udo Kier Ingjerd Egeberg Jason Sudeikis Søren Pilmark Maribeth Monroe Neil Patrick Harris Laura Dern Margo Martindale James Van Der Beek Niecy Nash Donna Lynne Champlin Don Lake Brigette Lundy-Paine Joaquim de Almeida Kerri Kenney-Silver Patrick Gallagher Pepe Serna Kathryn Aboya Jayne Houdyshell Phil Reeves Alison J. Palmer Tim Driscoll Kristen Thomson Kevin Kunkel Show All…

135 mins More details at IMDb TMDb Report this film

Popular reviews

Review by Demi Adejuyigbe ★★ 19

30 MIN IN: Hey, conceptually, this is pretty good! Seems like a broad take on a smart sci-fi satire idea, but still not sure why people hate this!

60 MIN IN: ... oh

120 MIN IN: ......................................... oh.
Review by Sean Baker 10

I usually avoid watching screeners but I made the poor decision to watch this film on a DVD screener. It was a mistake. Alexander Payne always makes great films. Even his worst films are better than most. So I'm a moron for not seeing this on the big screen. One of my faves of the year.
Review by Griffin Newman 8

Hi, my name is Griffin Newman and I like the movie DOWNSIZING. By the time you are reading this I am probably dead, having been brutally murdered by the entirety of Film Twitter.
Review by Lucy ★★½ 5

a concept that would have been much better in the hands of yorgos lanthimos or even someone like charlie mcdowell. i was pretty intrigued while i was watching it, but it left a bad taste in my mouth afterwards. my original review was just gonna be “???” which pretty much sums it up
Review by karen h. ★★½ 3

in this movie people go from BIG to ˢᵐᵃˡˡ and incidentally this movie also goes from GOOD AND INTERESTING to ᵖʳᵉᵗᵗʸ ᵇᵃᵈ
Review by Sam M. ★½ 9

Downsizing was released in 2004, nominated for 6 Oscars, including best Adapted screenplay, best picture, and best director. The screenplay won the first round of the Blacklist survey for unproduced scripts. The project was picked up originally by Ron Howard and was then around until 20th Century Fox finally began production. David O. Russell, Ridley Scott, and Spike Jonze were all at some point set to direct, and Vince Vaughn, Owen Wilson, George Clooney, and Kate Winslet were all at one point attached. The name was changed post-Cannes premiere, where it was widely acclaimed, despite failing to win the Palme. Charlie Kaufman reportedly did rewrites after test audiences found the ending too bitter, but these suggestions were thrown out. Starring…

Recent reviews

Review by starluvr ★★½

So boring
Review by Jon Broxton ★★★★

Downsizing is the latest film from director Alexander Payne. It has a fascinating premise; in a research lab in Norway a team of scientists led by Dr. Jørgen Asbjørnsen (Rolf Lassgård) finds a way to shrink a human being from full size, down to about five inches tall – perfectly safe, no side effects, but irreversible – as a way to halt humanity’s over-consumption of the planet’s natural resources . Within a decade the new technology – known as ‘downsizing’ – has become incredibly popular, with hundreds of thousands of people undergoing the procedure and moving to brand new, specially built communities for small people, which offer every luxury imaginable. Into this world comes Paul Safranek (Matt Damon), who agrees…
Review by GustavoP ★½

What is the point of this movie?
Review by Zach ★★★

I liked it and would watch it again. They could have went so many ways with this but they didn’t was the only disappointment for me.
Review by Jamie Y. ★★★½

I liked it more than Suburbicon.
Review by Dave Glass ½

Fuck that movie
Review by dnwhite66 ★

Starts off as a fun satirical concept and then quickly devolves into a boring, convoluted, preachy, self-important, dumb, incredibly long and drawn out painful experience. Movie is so long and just incredibly dull and boring after the first 40 minutes or so.
Review by TanoT ★★★

"Liebling, ich habe die Kinder geschrumpft" war das erste was mir bei der Grundidee von Downsizing in den Sinn kam. Gut, dass der Film in eine andere Richtung geht, zwar mit viel Humor, aber schwingt auch den moralischen Zeigefinger zum Zustand der Erde und der Menschheit. Vorallem das Duo Waltz/Kier fand ich wunderbar erfrischend und urkomisch.
Review by yousee ★★★

It’s a cult