PLOT: An incredibly powerful oil magnate’s company triggers an environmental disaster with potentially apocalyptic ramifications.
REVIEW: As a lifelong fan of Tom Cruise (the first movie I actually remember watching is Top Gun, so I mean that literally), it’s always a treat to see him challenge himself. Lately, those challenges have more often than not been physical ones, but in Digger, Cruise goes back to the kinds of risky bets we watched him pull off in movies like Born on the Fourth of July, Interview with the Vampire, Eyes Wide Shut, Magnolia and Tropic Thunder. Whatever the reaction to Digger will be—and it will be a polarized one—there’s no doubt that his performance is a tour de force. That’s partly for reasons I can’t go into here: there are things about this movie that shouldn’t be revealed before it opens, and I’m not going to be the one to spoil them.
One thing I will say is that Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s film is confrontational and even antagonistic toward its audience. It’s a strong, if unlikable, film centered on the kind of magnate the film suggests we willingly empower because he helps us maintain the luxuries of modern life. That he’s literally killing the planet is the price we pay. Digger Rockwell runs the world’s largest oil company and is so powerful that he has the U.S. president in his back pocket. He also has a team of scientists so terrified of his wrath that they feed him uncertain projections, giving him the plausible deniability he needs to continue with reckless projects. But when one of those projects backfires horribly and puts the world on a collision course with a potentially apocalyptic event, Digger—curiously enough—becomes more reckless and defiant than ever.
Cruise is incredible in a role he vanishes into, both in his physicality and his manner. But Cruise may be the only actor who could have played him, with the character having two things in common with Cruise himself: his incredible energy and his total belief in himself and what he’s doing. The difference is that while Cruise uses these strengths to entertain, Digger inadvertently uses them to kill the planet.
Iñárritu’s film is not an easy watch. There’s a choice he makes that becomes clear about a third of the way in and utterly changes how you experience the movie. I think it ultimately harms the film. It keeps you from investing in Digger’s story and the events we’re watching, even if it adds a unique layer to the performances, particularly those of Cruise and John Goodman, who plays the terminally ill president.
As such, Digger is highly experimental, to the point that it will alienate and turn off mainstream viewers—yet it might come to be regarded as an incredibly bold piece of filmmaking further down the line. Whatever the case, there are some bravura moments. A ten-minute sequence in which Digger addresses EU delegates in an extended rant against contemporary society is perfect and one of the best pieces of acting Cruise has ever done. But there are other points where, because of the film’s central conceit, you might find yourself zoning out—which happened to me a few times.
While Cruise is the center of the film, the supporting performances are great. Riz Ahmed delivers a poignant performance that mixes pathos with some pretty broad comedy. Goodman plays it to the hilt, as does Sandra Hüller. Of the supporting cast, Jesse Plemons probably has the most impressive moment. It comes late in the film and is one of its standout scenes. Technically, Digger is dazzling, with Emmanuel Lubezki’s cinematography and the shifting aspect ratios well served by the VistaVision photography. I saw it on an IMAX screen, and it looked great.
Because I can’t reveal much about it, Digger is a hard film to explain to anyone who hasn’t seen it. It also defies easy classification. Does it always work? No. It’s being billed as a comedy, but I didn’t laugh once. Yet it cries out to be seen and features elements—namely Cruise’s performance—that are nothing short of masterful. It gives you a lot to chew on and doesn’t always work, but it’s nonetheless a must-see, even if I wouldn’t blame anyone reading this for hating it.
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