Downsizing

First Hit:  Slow, tedious, and, at times, funny and the only thing that made it worthwhile was Hong Chau as Ngoc Lan Tran.

Tran doesn’t appear until the last third of the film, but she changes the film and energetically makes the film interesting and better. Up until then the main character, Paul Safranek (Matt Damon), is generally depressed and lacks any energy.

Damon is too good an actor to phone it in, and therefore he must have been delivering what director and writer Alexander Payne wanted.

There is a point to the film and it’s about how humans are systematically destroying the planet. Norwegian scientist Dr. Jorgen Asbjornsen (Rolf Lassgard) wanting to find a way to slow down the destruction, comes up with making people smaller. In this case a normal 6’ person gets shrunk to about 5”. Asbjornsen figures it will allow humans to consume fewer resources and give us time to figure out how to save the planet.

The upside to downsizing, as it is called, is that your money is worth about one hundred times as much. This makes it worthwhile for people to downsize as they can afford to live a life of luxury. Paul and his wife Audrey (Kristen Wiig) are struggling financially and if they choose to downsize they can life a great life.

As Paul finds himself living a less than stellar life as a downsized person he has some regrets. When he meets, and spends a bit of time with his neighbor Dusan Mirkovic (Christoph Waltz) his life begins to change.

However, it really begins to change and the film begins to get interesting when Paul gets involved with helping Tran. Tran organized and led protests in Vietnam, survived prison time for her involvement, was downsized by the government, and escaped Vietnam inside flat screen shipping box. She became famous for this escape from Vietnam so Paul recognized her when he saw her.

Given her past, she works to help anyone who is struggling to survive in the downsized city they live in. Paul becomes inspired by her.

The visuals of the downsized world are excellent. The comedy comes from this and some of the interactions between the characters.

Damon was mediocre and I don’t know if this was a poor performance by him or by the script and direction. There were times I could sense and feel Damon trying to make the scene better but to no avail. Waltz was mediocre as well. He’s another reliable actor who can deliver and I’ve got to believe that script and direction failed him. Lassgard was OK as the discovering scientist and leader of the movement to downsize and survive. Wiig had a very small part in this film and her scenes seemed strained and pressed. Chau was priceless. It was worth the price of admission just to watch her perform in this film. She was spot-on sublime. Payne and Jim Taylor wrote the script which ended up being restrictive and pressed. Payne had no business directing this because the vision was too restrictive as the acting showed. He had great tools but it didn’t work.

Overall:  I had high hopes for this film and liked the characters, but it came up short, real short.

Nebraska

First Hit:  Great acting in a very good story.

This is a story about an aging alcoholic man living in Billings Montana hoping to make a final splash for his family.

Woody Grant (Bruce Dern) is a retired auto mechanic, who sits around drinking his life away. His wife Kate (June Squibb) complains about Woody all the time. Clearly there is a long history and they must have loved each other, once.

Their sons David (Will Forte) and Ross (Bob Odenkirk) do their best to assist their parents with David doing the most because he lives close by. Woody is convinced that he is the winner of a million dollars from a magazine publishing group. He cannot drive any longer so he decides to walk to Lincoln Nebraska to collect his winnings.

After getting jailed for walking on the freeway, David decides to help his dad by taking him to Lincoln to learn that there is no such prize. The film is about Woody revisiting his childhood, his drinking, his family, and his life. In doing so he opens a window to his sons to see him more fully and despite her complaining, how their mother loves him.

Dern fully becomes Woody – there was no Bruce Dern – amazing and probably Oscar worthy. Forte was really wonderful as the son who helped his dad and in-turn helped himself. Odenkirk was strong as the older, more successful brother. Squibb was an absolutely amazing. Her turn as Woody’s wife was bold, pointed, and wonderfully funny. Stacy Keach as old friend Ed Pegram was very good. Tim Driscoll and Devin Ratray as Bart and Cole respectively were really great as two doofus relative brothers of his. Bob Nelson wrote an excellent script and Alexander Payne’s direction of this beautifully shot film was wonderful.

Overall:  This is a very strong film with top flight performances.

The Descendants

First Hit: Very good acting, especially by George Clooney, but the link to the title is weak.

The Descendants are his relatives and the history of Matt King’s (played by George Clooney) family in Hawaii.

King is a lawyer and sole trustee for the family’s estate, which over the years has been broken apart. There is one huge parcel left and the family members (cousins, nieces, and others) are tossed as to what to do with this property. Some want it preserved and others want it sold for development.

Selling it has the benefit of making almost everyone rich even though most of them were rich enough but squandered their money already. However, storyline is not what this film is about.

What this film is about is how a man navigates a path through making major decisions honorably and all within a 1 month period of time. During the negotiations for the possible sale of this land King’s wife Elizabeth (played by Patricia Hastie) is in the hospital in a coma from a boating accident.

Matt and his wife had lost their path together and therefore there is regret. Their older daughter Alexandra (played by Shailene Woodley) is in a$35K a year school for girls that have drug problems and are in emotional trouble.

Their younger daughter Scottie (played by Amara Miller) has wild ideas and is difficult to handle. The story isn’t about “The Descendants”, it is about dealing with the real estate transaction and his extended family, his wife dying, discovering his wife was having an affair prior to the boating accident, his older daughter and how to help her on her path of discovery to a fuller life, and his younger daughter and how to bring her up.

Clooney is at the top of his game. His subtle expressions of pain, confusion, anger and sadness are top notch. Woodley is wonderful as the older daughter. The intensity and deep pain of catching her mom in an affair and having to share this with her father was extraordinary. Miller as the younger daughter brought the right level of cuteness and abandon required for the role. Nick Krause as Sid and Alexandra’s friend was perfect as the smart and smart-alecky boy who pushed the film along in a unique way. Beau Bridges as Matt’s cousin Hugh who wants the sale to happen was great to see again. Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon wrote a strong screen play that wasn’t afraid to accurately bring up strong situations (like Sid’s laughing at an old persons lost memory). However I’m wondering what the film would have been like without the real estate sale. It seemed like an also ran of the plot but also an odd focal point. Payne also directed this film and he got great performances out of all the characters.

Overall:  This was an actor’s film and they were up to the challenge.