The name Hong Chau may not a ring a bell yet, but that is soon to change as her scene-stealing performance in the new film Downsizing begins to hit theaters.She’s already garnered many accolades for the role, including a Golden Globe nomination that she hopes will be the beginning of a long awards road.
Downsizing is the new film from Alexander Payne, who specializes in humanist dramas like Sideways, Nebraska, and The Descendants, but for this latest venture, he’s playing with his biggest ideas and budget to date.
The first third of the movie tackles the concept of a futuristic society where humans volunteer to shrink themselves down to five inches in an effort to reduce waste and help the environment. Things get more complicated from there and eventually delve into more ethically- and politically-charged waters, issues that have been absent from the film’s marketing.
While it’s fun to see star Matt Damon front and center and shrunk down to five inches, Downsizing has more on its mind than a one-off joke. This is where Hong Chau comes in, playing a character whose ethnic and social background have garnered a lot of chatter in the weeks leading up to her Golden Globe nomination.
Accompanied by the film’s producer Mark Johnson, Chau recently spoke to us about working on Downsizing, dealing with the visual effects of the film and how she feels her character is one of many representations of Asian culture. The following is a transcription of that conversation.
Mark Johnson: When did you first see the movie?
Q: I saw it this morning.
Johnson: This morning?
Q: Yes, so it’s still fresh.
Johnson: How do you deal with seeing a movie in the morning and doing an interview later in the day if the movie stinks?
Q: Luckily, that’s not the case here.
Johnson: (laughs) That’s good.
Q: Conceptually, this movie is really bonkers. What gravitated you toward the wild ideas of this film?
Hong Chau: I loved it. I thought it was so creative. Bonkers, yes, but you can only sustain the audience’s interest if there’s something grounded about the story. That way it’s not just about the high-concept or the props or the gimmick. It’s really about the characters and caring about them and caring about the journey they go on.
Johnson: That’s exactly right. Alexander Payne’s movies are about people. He’s from Omaha, so he tells stories about men from Omaha who are smart, sensitive and somewhat clueless. It’s by far his most ambitious movie.
Chau: Usually with movies that have a lot of visual effects, it’s about the spectacle and our most extravagant set piece was the apartment complex where my character lives. That speaks volumes that more attention was paid to that than a stunt or an explosion. Even though people say this movie is very timely because it deals with topics like immigration, consumerism, and climate change, it’s not just about those things. It’s more about human nature.
Q: Did it feel weird for you to be acting in a film that was more effects heavy as opposed to effects driven?
Chau: It was weird not for the special effects but also because my character is an amputee, and having to deal with changing my physicality. It’s more time consuming but wasn’t as difficult as I thought it would be. It felt easy and I think that comes from Alexander keeping all of that in check. We didn’t go overboard on effects, and he’s said before that he wanted the special effects in this movie to be banal.
Q: There are a lot of shades of compassion in this movie and almost no real villain. Has that been a challenge in terms of marketing the movie?
Johnson: That has been a challenge because there’s no real idea to get across. You can sell the idea that Matt Damon decides to become five inches tall and that’s interesting, but that’s not what the movie is. And about a third of the way into the movie it’s not even about being downsized. It’s hard to explain, but its biggest strength is that I’ve never seen anything like it.
Q: You both seem to be getting a lot of the same questions over and over again. Is there one question you wish would go away?
Chau: For me, personally, it’s about the accent. Everybody in the movie has an accent, the Norwegian scientists have an accent, Christoph Waltz has an accent, even Matt Damon has an accent. But they’ve really zeroed in on my character, who has an accent and speaks imperfect English. I think, logically, if someone has just come to the U.S., how good is their English supposed to be? I wasn’t anticipating how much of a sociology lesson I was going to have to give to people about my character.
Asian Americans, we’re not a monolithic group, we came here in different stages. There’s a difference between someone like me who wasn’t even born here and my parents who came over here as refugees. My upbringing and experience is different from someone who is second, third or fourth generation. We’re in this conversation right now about sensitivity and inclusivity, and I’m glad that it’s going on, but it’s hard for me when a white critic is telling me what’s racist. I wake up every day as an Asian woman, so I don’t appreciate hearing that.
Q: What would your reaction be if critics of Asian descent were against the accent and saying the same things to you that white critics are saying?
Chau: I would say what I just said. That we’re not a monolithic group and one Asian does not speak for all Asians. I’m not interested in narrowing down the definition of what positive representation for Asians is. If people are excited about an Asian woman playing the captain of some galactic federation, great. But then don’t say my character is not because all they see is a cleaning woman with one leg who doesn’t speak English very well. It’s a crying shame for Asians that because they’ve been short-changed in movies in the past, we can’t just have what we have. We can’t just enjoy it; we always have to go into something and be on alert.
Downsizing is now playing in theaters nationwide.
