Downsizing

In this inspired but melancholy comedy from Alexander Payne, the world's overpopulation crisis has been solved by scientists, who have found a way to shrink human beings to a fraction of their normal size. It's something that appeals to sad-sack blue-collar worker Matt Damon, who thinks that "going small" will finally give him and his wife (Kristin Wiig) the lifestyle they want but can't afford. Instead, guided by a cast of colourful characters that include a Serbian pirate (Christoph Waltz) and a one-legged Vietnamese dissident (Hong Chau), Damon finds himself navigating a new world that turns out to be just as fraught with disillusionment as the one he thought he'd left behind. Payne approaches the material with the same wit and warmth as past successes like Sideways and Nebraska, but despite its ambition, this remains one of his most meandering and least satisfying works.