Downsizing (2017)

A social satire in which a man realizes he would have a better life if he were to shrink himself to five inches tall, allowing him to live in wealth and splendor.

Director:

Alexander Payne

Writers:

Alexander Payne, Jim Taylor

Stars:

Matt Damon, Christoph Waltz, Hong Chau

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 1 win & 15 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Matt Damon	...	Paul Safranek
Christoph Waltz	...	Dusan Mirkovic
Hong Chau	...	Ngoc Lan Tran
Kristen Wiig	...	Audrey Safranek
Rolf Lassgård	...	Dr. Jorgen Asbjørnsen
Ingjerd Egeberg	...	Anne-Helene Asbjørnsen
Udo Kier	...	Konrad
Søren Pilmark	...	Dr. Andreas Jacobsen
Jason Sudeikis	...	Dave Johnson
Maribeth Monroe	...	Carol Johnson
Jayne Houdyshell	...	Paul's Mother
Phil Reeves	...	Audrey's Dad Larry
James Van Der Beek	...	Anesthesiologist
Alison J. Palmer	...	Anesthesiologist's Wife
Tim Driscoll	...	Good Friend Tim (as Timothy Edmund Driscoll)

Storyline

A new world of possibilities awaits, thanks to a revolutionary medical procedure known as Downsizing. Billed as environmentally-friendly, many people choose to downsize for economic benefits. When the kindly occupational therapist, Paul, undergoes the new procedure, finding himself in this brand-new existence, he must choose between a sheltered life or making an impact in his own small way. Can he help save the planet and afford a nice lifestyle at the same time?

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Plot Keywords:

lying woman | flaky woman | lying wife | divorce | miniaturization | 

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Taglines:

See life in a big way

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Genres:

Drama | Fantasy | Sci-Fi

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language including sexual references, some graphic nudity and drug use.

Did You Know?

Trivia

The movie goes into great lengths to show the audience that everyone gets completely shaved head to toe. During the shot that shows the Leisureland employees removing the sheets over the men, one of the men still has visible pubic hair

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Goofs

A person 5 inches tall would have a very high and squeaky voice - so high, in fact, that it would be on a different wavelength altogether and inaudible to the ears of a full-sized person, like an ultra-sonic dog whistle. (A dog might be able to hear them, but that's about all.) At the other end of the scale, a downsized person would hear a full-sized person's voice as a low growl, like a vinyl record played too slow. The downsized people all had "normal" voices - even in scenes showing them conversing with full-sized people.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Dr. Andreas Jacobsen: [in Danish to technician who has rushed into his office] Yes, Jørgen?
Dr. Jorgen Asbjørnsen: [in Norwegian] We have it... Andreas, we have it... It works!
[the embrace]

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Crazy Credits

The first half of the end credits feature the camera zooming out from the chest outward of Leonardo da Vinci's famous drawing Vitruvian Man.

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Connections

Featured in WatchMojo: Top 10 Movie Flops of the Last Decade (2020)

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Soundtracks

Billy-Jane Doe
Written by Richard Ford and Daniel Rojas
Performed by Richard Ford
Courtesy of Drofy Music Publishing

User Reviews

So disappointing!

This movie was so disappointing....in so many ways. With so many strong, media-hyped and highly anticipated films coming out in the 2017 holiday/end-of-the-year season I feel cheated that I chose to see Downsizing over other contenders. I thought the premise was fresh and imaginative but then, less than half-way through the movie, the whole story line took took a sharp turn. The 'charm' disappeared and the characters, along with the plot, seemed to sail off in an uncharted direction. (Before the movie ended I was already thinking of the recent 'disastrous' fate of the film MOTHER!) The whole literal downsizing idea had so much more potential than to be turned into another Hollywood message film to the audience.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official Instagram

Country:

USA Norway

Language:

English Spanish Norwegian French Korean Greek Vietnamese

Release Date:

22 December 2017 (USA)

Also Known As:

Downsizing

Filming Locations:

Pinewood Toronto Studios, Port Lands, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$68,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$4,954,287, 24 December 2017

Gross USA:

$24,449,754

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$55,003,890

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, Ad Hominem Enterprises, Gran Via Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

135 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1