There are so many exciting, long-awaited festival films about to hit theaters for us normal, non-festival-going film folk (“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” “The Killing of a Sacred Deer,” “The Square,” and “Roman J. Israel, Esq.,” to name but a few that I’ve personally been shivering with anticipation over), but none promise so much sheer originality as Alexander Payne‘s “Downsizing.” Here’s the synopsis:
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.
Payne shares some fascinating info on the film in a recent interview with EW: “’Downsizing’ imagines what might happen if overpopulation and climate change [prompt] Norwegian scientists to discover how to shrink people down to five inches tall and propose, very earnestly, the population’s two-to-three-hundred-year transition from big to small.”
“It takes something inherently absurd, but tells it with utter earnestness… We’re more interested in making human films [but “Downsizing” is] an interesting prism through which to view our times,” he added.
Payne likens his new film to “Black Mirror” by way of Robert Altman. He briefly mentions that the film deals with important issues of the day such as the environment and immigration, before saying that he doesn’t “want it to sound too much like a political movie. We’re more interested in making human films. Humans are involved in politics, so we thought this story was an interesting prism through which to view our times.”
“Downsizing” has a great cast including Matt Damon, Laura Dern, Christoph Waltz and Kristen Wiig. Paramount is betting on it being an awards contender, as such giving it a release date of December 22nd.