Downsizing

The latest from acclaimed writer-director Alexander Payne (he of Sideways, The Descendants and Nebraska) is a thoughtful sci-fi satire set in a near-future world where the technology exists to shrink people down to just five inches tall. Developed by brilliant Norwegian scientists as a last-ditch bid to help reduce the strain on our overpopulated planet, the irreversible procedure has the added benefit of making meagre finances seem like millions. It's understandable then that cash-strapped Omaha therapist Paul Safranek (Matt Damon) comes to see the appeal, signing on the dotted line and moving into a mini-resort where he meets both ageing Serbian playboy Dusan (Christoph Waltz) and dissident Vietnamese refugee Ngoc Lan Tran (the brilliant Hong Chau).