December Review Part 2: The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957) (Patreon)

Sometimes, Checkov shows a gun, and sometimes he shows a cat. In The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957), all signs point to cat.

The Incredible Shrinking Man follows the tale of one such man, who, when exposed to some radioactive fog, begins to shrink. Modern medicine is able to help him for a time, but when treatments stop working, he is forced to live the life of the tiny. He resides in a dollhouse, eventually having his world turned upside down by a stray cat, and presumed dead, must struggle for survival in his former basement. While the logline sounds like some classic sci fi, the film itself clearly wants to say something. What that something is can be, at times, both straightforward and unclear. Despite the often melodramatic messaging, there is much to appreciate about this piece of classic sci fi.

Something that stuns in The Incredible Shrinking Man is how this 50s flick managed to pull off really convincing visual effects. As the titular Scott shrinks, the film makes avid use of forced perspective and set design to allow Scott (Grant Williams) to appear to actually be shrinking in relation to his co-stars, including shots of both Scott and his wife (Randy Stuart) within the same shot at the same time. When the focus is on the apparently rapidly changing sizes of this man, the film really shines. 

Similarly, the film plays with the idea of the familiar becoming foreign in creative ways that clearly have influenced future size-changing features like Honey I Shrunk the Kids. The world Scott explores when he shrinks down to thimble size is at once dangerous and clear. Scott and the audience know how the mousetrap works, and this allows us to understand the stakes as he attempts to steal the cheese without it snapping on him. While the film is more interested in the man versus nature narrative it has imposed over this what if sci fi scenario, when it does allow Scott to really adapt to his situation, the audience is treated to a clever exploration of a familiar world that is at once tense and charming.

The Incredible Shrinking Man has some points, as is often the case with old movies, where you can see the time it was man shine through, particularly in the inclusion of a circus "freak show" and little people, who's experience being born short is contrasted with Scotts becoming short. As the actress portraying the little person is herself, not one, and the film seems to be using her life solely to make Scott feel slightly better about his own, unreal situation, this sequence comes across to a modern audience as tone-deaf.

Overall, The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957) does much well, but is too enamored with having a deep message to shine as a piece of classic science fiction. While still worth the watch, if you don't have a hankering for the kind of sci fi iconic to the 50s, you're not likely to get much out of the narrative of The Incredible Shrinking Man. 

6/10 Hunks of Basement Cake