Want to see a shrunken Matt Damon? Then discover the astonishing comedy “Downsizing”, in which the actor stars alongside Kristen Wiig, Christoph Waltz and Jason Sudeikis. Available on Netflix.
To combat overpopulation, scientists are developing a process to shrink humans to a size of around 12 centimeters. This process is “downsizing”, which makes everyone realize that reducing their size is above all a good opportunity to considerably increase their standard of living. This is the funny pitch of Downsizing, a film like no other directed by Matt Damon and available on Netflix.
This Downsizing is a little treat. Because behind the pure entertainment which amuses lies a scathing and ironic social satire which challenges and makes this film highly recommendable. Not to mention that Matt Damon, with this astonishing sci-fi comedy, finds here one of his best roles, and that the rest of the cast, notably Kristen Wiig, Christoph Waltz and Jason Sudeikis, are in tune.
Released in French cinemas at the beginning of 2018, Downsizing benefited from a budget estimated between 65 and 90 million dollars. A work signed by Alexander Payne (Mr. Schmidt, The Descendants) who had, with his team, to take up the technical challenge of making several actors tiny on screen. A challenge… big!
“We used real photos and authentic photography techniques when possible so that the images were anchored in reality, even if we then transformed them into infographics”says visual effects supervisor James Price. “We first shot all our backgrounds on set, then the set elements and character accessories shrunk on a green background. By integrating the images shot on a green screen with those filmed on set, we have the feeling that the shrunken figures are in a normal-scale shot.”
James Price completes: “In addition to traditional techniques, we used digital technology, in particular 3D printers to make 12-centimeter dolls which served as doubles and software allowing us to precisely measure the shooting angles suitable for these dolls and to the normal-sized actors present in the shot. This is how we are able to know their field of vision and so that the actors filmed on a green screen can fit in perfectly afterwards.”
Ben Affleck and Matt Damon: they were broke 6 months after selling their most famous film!
With Downsizing, Matt Damon joins the list of actors miniaturized for the big screen including Grant Williams in The Shrinking Man, Robert Oliveri and Amy O’Neil in Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, Dennis Quaid in The Adventure Within or, more recently, Jean Dujardin in A Man Who Is Up to and Paul Rudd in Ant-Man.
A sci-fi comedy that entertains and makes you think, Downsizing is high-end entertainment to quickly discover. Available on Netflix.
The trailer for “Drive-Away Dolls”, with Pedro Pascal and Matt Damon: