Downsizing (2017)

This is an excellent film though the concept is a little bizarre.
Paul Safranek (Matt Damon) just wants to make it in the world. He's an occupational therapist because he had to drop out of medical school when his mother got sick and it takes him until he's forty (ish) to pay off his student loans, which is something that I cannot imagine and his wife, Audrey (Kristen Wiig) wants everything big and fancy.
There is also this new trend of downsizing, where normal sized humans become much, much smaller. By doing so, its better for the environment but also, it is an easy way to amass wealth, and Audrey seems more thrilled about the whole thing than Paul. Leisureland is beautiful and there is no crime.
You think this movie is just humming alone but there is a twist, Audrey couldn't complete the downsizing process. I can't say I'd blame her, they shave your head and every other hair off your body. Paul is livid; he's small and she stayed big.
The film then cuts forward to a year. Paul and Audrey get divorced and his new relationship with a single mom goes south and he hates his job working as a customer service assistant for Lands End. But he makes friends with his odd neighbor, Dusan (Christoph Waltz). Dusan loves to party and he is wealthy as he sort of deals in contraband goods and makes a fortune doing so. While awaking from a drug-induced sleep, he meets the Vietnamese refugee Ngoc Lan (Hong Chao, excellent) who is having trouble with her prosthetic foot. Only Paul makes it worse, breaking it entirely.
And Ngoc Lan is a being person; she cares for many ill people and cleans houses and she doesn't take crap from anyone. She really is a strong person and has such a screen presence, certainly the best performance of the film by far. She deserved far more awards and nominations than received.
Leisureland isn't all leisure. Ngoc Lan stays in a refugee camp, without an elevator but she doesn't complain; she likes working for herself.
The film takes sort an odd turn with Dusan gets Paul to help his smuggle supplies into the original colony in Norway and Ngoc Lan goes with them as they consider her a hero. Along the way, they learn the world is ending, with all the methane being released. But the original colony has another escape route, where they will journey underneath the world. Dusan thinks it is a foolish idea as they are a cult, which is basically the truth. Paul wants to join them and Ngoc Lan is very upset, that he is just brushing off the sick people who have no options. Also, it has been a long time since I've shipped a couple in a movie that hard.
Fortunately, Paul comes to his senses and doesn't go down the hole. Instead, he continues helping Ngoc Lan make little differences in people's lives and is all the better for it.
Though it is an odd film, it is still excellent with a new, creative idea, something that is very rare in Hollywood these days. The setting is breathtaking and characters unique, with fascinating personalities. The acting is also great. Alexander Payne delivers another superb film. Grade: A-