Summary

• Despite the allure of a seemingly better life, Paul realizes that it's not worth sacrificing what truly makes him happy in Downsizing.
• Ngoc Lan's impact on Paul is profound, inspiring him to be a better person and find happiness despite his downsized circumstances.
• The controversial contingency plan to save humanity in an underground vault is not foolproof and raises questions about the future and potential misuse of the downsizing procedure.

Downsizing explores the personal journey of Paul Safranek, with the ending highlighting his realization that just because there is a seemingly better option out there in life does not mean he should take it every time. Downsizing is director Alexander Payne's seventh film, with a talented cast that features Matt Damon, Hong Chau, Christoph Waltz, and Kristen Wiig, among others. While Downsizing was a critical and commercial flop in 2017, as the concept was called better than the story, Hong Chau's performance as Ngoc Lan Tran earned her a Golden Globe nomination.

Downsizing delves into how Safranek decides to go through the revolutionary "downsizing" procedure in the hopes of escaping his financial hardship. His life is then shockingly thrown the ultimate curveball when his wife Audrey decides last-second not to go through with the procedure, thus leaving him to live his new life alone while being five inches tall. Safranek struggles to adjust to his new life until he meets Tran, a woman who was downsized against her will. As the two begin to fall in love with one another, Safranek wants to live in a vault with downsized people to prevent human extinction, but reneges in Downfall's ending to be with Tran instead.

Why Does Paul Change His Mind About The Vault?

Paul goes back on his decision at the last minute

Upon finding out that there is a contingency plan to prevent human extinction by living in an underground vault, Paul is excited by the prospect of doing his part in preserving humanity. Paul tries to convince Ngoc Lan she should join him as it's the right choice in his mind, but she disagrees, believing that they should help the impoverished who are downsized while they still can and that going into the vault isn't a foolproof plan. Paul initially embraces the new opportunity as he gets ready to embark on his next chapter, but goes the other way not just because he loves Ngoc Lan but also because he ultimately agrees that she's right.

This shows how much Paul has changed compared to the first act of Downsizing, where he took the opportunity for a seemingly better life by shrinking himself. While he was granted a more luxurious life, he lost his wife, he lost his friends, and now he works at a job he doesn't like. He may have gotten what he wanted, but it didn't bring him the instantaneous happiness he hoped it would. It wasn't until he found another support system in Leisureland that he realized that it wasn't worth giving up what he knew he had for the chance of doing something potentially better. The lesson he learned was that even if the opportunity to potentially improve his life in some way was there, it wasn't worth sacrificing what he knew made him happy.

Ngoc Loc Tran's Impact On Paul Explained

Paul's outlook is changed by Hong Chau's character

Paul initially struggled with his new life because there was no one to share it with once his wife divorced him. To add insult to injury, he was also not allowed to work as an occupational therapist. That was until he met Ngoc Loc, a house cleaner who was downsized against her will. As they get to know each other, Paul sees the impoverishment of Leisureland, which in turn, shows him that there are people worse off than he is despite what has happened. Tran's compassion and her strong work ethic inspire Paul to follow her lead despite, at times, being out of his depth.

Paul falls for Ngoc Loc because she reminds him primarily of what he once had. He falls in love with her as he fell in love with Audrey, but through Ngoc Loc, he finally gets to enjoy his life again by applying his skills as an occupational therapist, which was what he enjoyed before downsizing. Even better, because of her, he gets to help people around him and take on more of an altruistic role in his new society. Seeing her efforts and knowing she had been through before inspires him to not only be better but to be happier with who he is after getting dealt a bad hand upon downsizing.

Dr. Jørgen Asbjørnsen's Contingency Plan Controversy Explained

Asbjørnsen's plan to save humanity isn't foolproof

One of the primary reasons why Downsizing is considered among the best lighthearted movies that suddenly get really dark is because of the final twist in its third act. Dr. Jørgen Asbjørnsen revealed that methane emissions from Antarctica have made scientists conclude that the human race was doomed for extinction. To preserve it, he convinces those in the original downsizing colony to enter an underground vault, where they will stay for a long enough time that their descendants will emerge when Earth is deemed habitable again. However, Dusan Mirkovic and Joris Konrad believe that it's a cult-like plan, and that the extinction won't happen for hundreds of years.

Because Asbjørnsen created a revolutionary procedure that he intended to improve many lives, at first, it seems like following his plans to save humanity is the right move. However, there's no telling how much things can change in hundreds or thousands of years. More importantly, Downsizing shows that the procedure he invented can be used quite maliciously if it falls into the wrong hands. Even when Asbjørnsen passes on, there's no telling if his descendants will carry on his work, which could cause rifts. If that's not enough, Downsizing's ending leaves it ambiguous whether the plan will actually work.

Still, whether the contingency plan would work or not wasn't the point of the procedure. The point was that, in life, there are no completely foolproof choices. Paul learned this when he downsized. The point is, whether he'll be right or wrong, Paul went with the choice that he believed he would be happiest with as opposed to the one that would benefit him more.

The Real Meaning Of Downsizing

Paul learns an important lesson about finding purpose and moving past mistakes

Downsizing is also considered by some to be among movies that wasted a good premise because it started out appearing to be a light-hearted comedy, only to harp on extremely dark subject matter as the story progressed. While, at first, it made for a funny joke that everything backfired on Paul immediately after he chose to downsize, Downsizing hammers home that his choices had consequences once the procedure was done. He had to live with trying to take the easy way out of his financial issues, and there was no turning back, no matter what.

Throughout the rest of the Matt Damon movie, Paul is understandably miserable at first because of the difficulty in adjusting to his new life knowing what he lost, especially since Audrey's actions also affected his living situation in Leisureland. However, Paul slowly learns to adjust to his new life situation over time by making friends with Dusan and finding a new romance in Ngoc Loc. He couldn't erase the damage that had been done, much like how Asbjørnsen couldn't erase what had been done to the planet, but he could acclimate himself to his new environment. Doing so played a part in how he found a new sense of happiness despite being a colossal mistake.

Downsizing points out that while past mistakes can't be undone, people who make them can still learn and grow from them. Paul could have easily embraced his misery, and no one would have blamed him. But, because he soon realized how happy he was becoming in his new role, he found that his fate in Downsizing wasn't such a bad choice overall.

Downsizing can now be streamed on Netflix and Pluto.

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  Downsizing

  Summary:

  When scientists discover how to shrink humans to five inches tall as a solution to over-population, Paul (Matt Damon) and his wife Audrey (Kristen Wiig) decide to abandon their stressed lives in order to get small and move to a new downsized community - a choice that triggers life-changing adventures. This is the latest film from writer/director Alexander Payne, a longtime critical darling behind Oscar-winning hits like Sideways and The Descendants. Payne and his writing partner Jim Taylor spent years working on the script, but production on The Descendants and Nebraska prevented them from starting production. In 2014, the two finally decided to make it their next film. Since Downsizing has been in development for so long, the cast underwent numerous changes before principal photography commenced. Originally, Reese Witherspoon, Sacha Baron Cohen, and Paul Giamatti were set to star, but they were all replaced. Downsizing premiered at the 2017 Venice Film Festival, where it received generally positive reviews. Critics found the concept to be unique and creative, but felt the story was not executed in the best manner. Though not as much of a player on the awards circuit as Payne's other films, the film has received some noteworthy accolades. It was named one of the 10 best films of the year by the National Board of Review, and Hong Chau has received multiple Supporting Actress nominations for her performance - including the Screen Actors Guild and Golden Globes. Want to know more about Downsizing?

  Watch the Downsizing Trailer

  Read Screen Rant's Downsizing Review

  2018 Golden Globe Nominations

  Release Date:

  2017-12-22

  Cast:

  Jason Sudeikis, Neil Patrick Harris, Margo Martindale, Kristen Wiig, Laura Dern, Christoph Waltz, Matt Damon, Alec Baldwin

  Director:

  Alexander Payne

  Genres:

  Sci-Fi, Comedy

  Rating:

  R

  Writers:

  Jim Taylor, Alexander Payne

  Runtime:

  135minutes

  Budget:

  $68–76 million

  Studio(s):

  Paramount Pictures

  Distributor(s):

  Paramount Pictures