Size matters for ill-suited Damon

But despite everything Payne’s latest has going for it, we are a long way off the brilliance of Sideways as it never quite fully clicks.

Most attempts at humour fall flat, particularly the tiresome mispronunciation of Paul and Audrey’s surname and Hong Chau’s Vietnamese political activist Ngoc Lan Tran’s casual use of the words “death” and “dead”.

Chau herself flips between grating and touching in a wildly inconsistent performance; but at least she has a bit of fun with the premise.

Everyone else – apart from Waltz – looks downtrodden throughout and it’s very odd to see Damon playing a frumpy, slightly overweight everyman who never seems to find happiness.

It’s as if he’s trying to play a younger version of Jack Nicholson’s character in Payne’s About Schmidt and it doesn’t really work – or suit Damon’s acting style.

He is given a thorough visual roasting, though, in a standout sequence where he is shorn of all of his body hair in preparation for his downsizing; and the fact the procedure is irreversible results in thought-provoking decision-making and questionable morality.

The uneven nature of the film is perhaps best summed up by its bookends; an expositionheavy but tantalising opening and a climax that veers off in an unexpected-but-jarring direction.

Downsizing may struggle to make the most of its hugely intriguing initial concept, then, but there are more highs than lows in what is one giant step for cinematic originality.