Downsizing Movie Ending Explained- What Paul’s Final Look Meant And Happiness At The End Of The World

The critically panned Downsizing is a dystopian dramedy about the end of the world, capitalism, and realizing what is most important. The fallacy of the American Dream is standard fuel for socially conscious storytelling. Regardless of your political leaning, Downsizing has a message for everyone. Good acts outweigh bad ones, and as long as there are people who care, all is not lost. Here’s everything you need to know about the ending and what it means for Paul and the end of the world.

A new technology shrinks people and things to live in tiny worlds where resources go much further. In the regularly sized world, everything is slowly dying. Resources will run out. Overpopulation is running rampant, and toxins are filling the air and water. This new, shrinking technology promises those who enter the tiny cities a chance to live the good life and help the world survive. Both of these things appeal to Paul.

Matt Damon’s Paul is a downtrodden man who has lived his whole adult life caring for others in Downsizing. He cared for his sick mother, giving up his dream to be a doctor and, later, his emotionally needy and migraine-prone wife. He is a good guy who helped others, was concerned about the world as a whole, and genuinely wanted to make a difference. Unfortunately, those in his life didn’t share those same ideals. His wife and mother took advantage of him, and his belief that money made you happy impeded his ability to see what matters most. He was a helper. Paul made the world better by helping those around him.

After becoming convinced that he could make a difference by shrinking, he and his wife fly to the facility and begin the process. Unfortunately, Paul wakes up to find his wife had chickened out, and a year later, she had divorced him and taken most of his money. With little money and options, he moved out of his lavish house and into an apartment. He works at a call center and begins dating a single mother. When a date goes poorly, he goes to a party at his upstairs neighbors, and everything changes. When he wakes up from a drug-fueled night, he meets a cleaning lady, Ngoc Lan Tran. She is a young immigrant who was shrunk against her will and nearly died in the process of trying to get back to the normal world.

Now, she works tirelessly to repay her medical debt. She lost part of her leg and has a poorly designed prosthetic but spends all her time paying off debts and helping her community. When Paul meets her, the two build a friendship, and Paul also begins helping. He tries to fix her leg but ends up breaking it, and as a result, he does her cleaning job for her, runs all her errands, and helps those in her neighborhood. He sees her constantly helping. She gathers meals for the hungry, cares for the sick, and does everything with a grateful smile. Over time, he realizes that true happiness comes from helping others and appreciating the small things in life. When his neighbor offers him and Ngoc Lan an opportunity to go to Norway, everything changes.

Dr. Jorgen Asbjørnsen tells them a massive methane release in the Arctic has doomed the world. The world is ending. The end of humanity is here. There is nothing anyone can do about it. The Norwegian scientist was the person who first invented downsizing. Simultaneously, another Norwegian group had been building an underground community to save humanity. They have been creating ways to sustain us for 8000 years until Earth stabilizes and we can return to the planet’s surface.

It’s incredible, and Paul has hope that at least some people can survive. Paul and Ngoc are offered a chance to join the group, but Ngoc declines. She wants to return home and help those who need her the most for as long as possible. She thinks that is more important than literally hiding away. Paul, on the other hand, thinks staying alive is the best way to help. On their last day on the Earth’s surface, they discuss what really matters.

Remaining on the surface isn’t just for the socially conscious. Dusan and Konrad choose to stay because they are capitalists and hedonists. They both want to live happily rather than die in slow and sad. Ironically, all three of them help Paul understand what is essential. Service to those who need and appreciate it is what makes Paul happy. He needed to learn to be grateful for his gifts and the joy in his life. Dusan taught him gratitude, and Ngoc taught him life and love were gifts. Both were lessons he needed. The underground community sealed its doors, and Paul, Konrad, and Ngoc left Norway to return to Leisureland.

What does the ending of Downsizing mean?

Back in Leisireland, Paul and Ngoc continued their work. They cared for the poor, hungry, and sick. Helping people made him happy and fulfilled Paul in a way nothing in his life ever had because it mattered. Even though the world was ending, Paul knew his contribution made a difference. In the final scene of Downsizing, Paul delivers food to a poor older man in the lobby of the slum Ngoc always cared for. He looks back at the man as he leaves, and the film ends. That last glance can be interpreted in several ways. It could be an acknowledgment that there will always be societal inequity. It could also be recognition that Paul made the right choice for himself and has finally found peace and purpose, even if it won’t last forever.

Earth is probably ending. Eventually, all of the tiny towns will die off as the normally sized world collapses, but caring for those who are left behind as long as he can makes Paul happy. That is the contribution he can make to society. At the end of the film, he sees what has been in front of him the whole time. Helping those who need it most is as important as money. True peace can’t be bought with money, and no amount of possessions will bring you peace. At that moment, Paul finds what he had been looking for when he first downsized. He found love. Love for himself, romantic love, love for fellow man, and love of life. Downsizing is currently streaming on Netflix.