My Impression of Downsizing
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| Image from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Downsizing_(film) |
The synopsis of the movie is about Paul Safranek (Matt Damon) and Audrey Safranek (Kristen Wiig), who decides to sign up for the "downsizing" procedure as a way to start a new happier life together to get away from the stress of their everyday life in Omaha. The downsizing procedure was discovered by scientists in the movie with their motivation of wanting to decrease humanity's footprint on Earth in an attempt to conserve resources to better the environment. To prevent spoilers, I'll leave the synopsis at this point to not ruin any surprise if you do decide to watch it.
My thoughts about the film was surprising. I honestly didn't have any expectations of the film prior to watching it. I had seen one trailer, and didn't think about it but was intrigued by the premise of the story. In addition, Matt Damon was in the movie in the lead role. The movie does try to tackle some of the economic and social issues that is in our society with this downsizing experiment. Although I feel it's not the main conflict of the story as the story is about Matt Damon's character. For most of the film, it serves as a setting. He goes through several events in his life that leaves him to assess his life and trying to make sense/find purpose in his life. The story doesn't have an antagonist, and does mirror everyday life in a way. I would think of it in the "slice of life" genre more so than a comedy/drama film that the ads have marketed the movie.
By the time the end credits rolled, I thought the movie was good and was surprised to see that it had bombed the box office with most critics and the majority of movie viewers disliking the film. I have to agree that through the middle of the film, I was a bit confused on the direction of the story but I thought the payoff at the end was enough for me to accept Paul's resolution and his journey had connected it back to the beginning of the film.
I thought the acting was really good considering the status of some of the actors/actresses in the film. I was surprised by Hong Chau's acting as I wasn't expecting a Vietnamese actress in the main cast. Her character was touching and convincing with her performance. I really like the cinematography in the film as some of the landscape shots were nicely framed.
Overall, I liked the film. It has its flaws, but I wouldn't go to the point that it was a waste of time to watch. It brings up some issues to think about during and after the film, and if you decide to give it a watch, go in with an open mind.
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