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 | aeroplane | lying wife | divorce | 

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Taglines:

We are meant for something bigger.

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Genres:

Drama | 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

Was screened at the 14th Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF), on 12t December 2017, with a video message from Alexander Payne.

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Goofs

E = mc^2 applies universally. Reducing Matt Damon from 5'10" to 5" would require the disappearance of 7 600 000 000 000 000 000 joules of energy, equivalent to 180 ten megaton bombs. They did this to 27 people at a time. 4860 ten megaton bombs ought to have made quite a hole in the laboratory.

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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

Referenced in Everything Wrong with...: Everything Wrong with Hereditary in 13 Minutes or Less (2019)

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Soundtracks

Balance 4
Written & Performed by Greg Ellis
Courtesy of Greg Ellis

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

Technical Specs

Runtime:

135 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1