Alexander Payne has made quite the name for himself over the years thanks to quirky, charming efforts such as Sideways and About Schmidt. Having been in some form of development since 2004, his latest effort – Downsizing – is now available on home release, but is this another homerun for the talented Nebraska native, or is this pint-sized picture a rare misstep?

When a scientific breakthrough sees “downsizing” become a way of dealing with overpopulation, global warming, and financial difficulties, many people decide to be shrunk down to a teeny-tiny five inches. For Paul (Matt Damon) and Audrey Safranek (Kristen Wiig), a college reunion starts to get the cogs turning that this could well be a very real option for them as they look to shake themselves out of their midlife funk, financial issues, and what-could-have-beens. Deciding to undergo the procedure and move to Leisureland, the Safraneks are lined up for a life that not only decreases their carbon footprint and is far more environmentally friendly, but they can live like millionaires due to the far, far cheaper cost involved in being so small. Unfortunately, a major curveball is just around the corner and all is not quite as smooth sailing as this married couple were expecting.

Downsizing is quite the peculiar picture, with it being equally as stunning as it is flawed. The first half of the film is charming, captivating, efficient, and rather clinical in establishing just why somebody would want to be “downsized” and what the reality of that process entails. Sadly though, once said shrinking occurs, Downsizing loses its way and stumbles through an anticlimactic conclusion and a final act that you unfortunately find yourself with very little investment in. While the establishing elements brilliantly highlight the shared existence of tiny people in the greater, larger world, once the action begins to play out within the pint-sized world then a sense of scale and intrigue is lost. To its credit, there is still a large dollop of heart present in the movie throughout, and the shrunken-down Damon strikes up a life-questioning friendship with Hong Chau’s Ngoc; a Vietnamese activist who was forcefully shrunk by her own government. Similarly, Christoph Waltz turns up to devour scenery as an eccentric playboy who just so happens to have his fingers in plentiful black-market pies.

While you may go in to Downsizing expecting to see Matt Damon or Kristen Wiig claim the picture as their own, it’s Hong Chau who absolutely steals the show with a performance that is brutally honest, splendidly comedic when needed, and overflowing with a sense of moral compass.

Downsizing isn’t quite the outright classic that many of us were hoping for, but similarly it’s far from being any sort of a bad picture. Instead, we have a movie that establishes its premise impressively well before ultimately losing its intrigue and sheen as things play out; which in itself almost mirrors the journey experienced by Damon’s Paul Safranek.

All in all, this is a case of good-not-great, which is no bad thing. It’s more that this feels like such a missed opportunity to be something truly exceptional after such a strong opening hour.

Special Features: Six featurettes

DOWNSIZING / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR: ALEXANDER PAYNE / SCREENPLAY: ALEXANDER PAYNE, JIM TAYLOR / STARRING: MATT DAMON, CHRISTOPH WALTZ, KRISTEN WIIG, HONG CHAU, JASON SUDEIKIS, UDO KIER / RELEASE DATE: MAY 28TH