By Ben Miller
Alejandro G. Inarritu's Digger is sure to be divisive. While you might have an understanding of the film's tone and messaging early on, a sharp-left turn in the narrative reframes your entire comprehension of what transpires. It's a real mess.
It's going to be very difficult to talk in detail about this film without discussing spoilers, but if you are confused by reading my review, imagine how you would feel in the theater. When the "twist" happens, I stared at the screen incredulous about what I was watching. "This? This is what the film is doing?" You can't even get your bearings on the new reality of the film before it switches back to how it started. It's an insane way to make a film, and an even more insane way to present it...
I'm all for taking the big swing. Great cinema is built on taking a chance instead of playing it safe. I really appreciate the swing, but the effort needs to coalesce into actual narrative sense. Why this film was made the way it was, I will never know, but it was certainly a choice. This film is 85% the movie you think it is (and it isn't very good), while the other 15% is much more bold and interesting. If that percentage was leaning more towards the minority story, I might care a bit more. The way it is actually constructed, it's a real mess.
Tom Cruise stars as Digger Rockwell, a boisterous oil tycoon. He learns from his employees the drilling his company is performing in Greenland is producing unexpected geological results. Digger's chief scientist Ganesh (Riz Ahmed) arrives to explain exactly how disastrous these results could be for the planet. Digger springs into action and gathers President Compson (John Goodman), the Vice President (Michael Stuhlbarg), and other world leaders to come up with a solution.
Plot-wise, that's all I'm gonna say, because this film deserves fresh eyes. The "twist" arrives, and the film soldiers on without much understanding of what it is actually trying to do. It takes a good 90-minutes of runtime to actually grasp what is happening in this world. The divisive reaction will be solely based on how you feel the film was able to make its point, or if it was a big waste of time.
I am squarely in the waste of time category. I don't blame the filmmakers for the marketing materials completely misrepresenting the type of film it is, but what could they have possibly done? If you've seen the film, there was no way this was going to be a win-win scenario between the film and the marketing. I have no doubt Inarritu, Cruise, and the rest of the production team made the exact film they wanted to make. I just have no idea what audience this would be for.
Cruise is definitely going for it, whatever the film asks of him. Again, it's extremely difficult to talk about without spoiling, but he does put in some good work at various points. DIgger is a very big character, and Cruise isn't scared of making him as big as possible. Ahmed gets away the cleanest among the cast, delivering a measured performance, but understands the comedy better than anyone else. His delivery in the film's later stages are some of the film's most memorable scenes.
Huller, Goodman, and Stuhlbarg don't get much to work with, mostly because they have to cede all the air in the room to Cruise. Jesse Plemons comes in and does some really nice work at the film's third act, but his character is shoddily written before that point. The film does have a deep bench, with Robert John Burke, Emma D'Arcy, Burn Gorman, and Sophie Wilde all having memorable roles.
When the end credits roll, I sat there wondering what the point of it all was. It very clearly has a message in mind, but there was far too many unnecessary plot devices in order to get to that point. The message is so obvious and heavy-handed, it's almost insulting to an audience the film has already been alienating. I left the theater dumbfounded at what I saw.
Digger is a monumental mess. It tries to be profound, satirical, and layered, without being successful at any element. It was a memorable theatrical experience for all the wrong reasons. D+
Oscar Chances: Unless Cruise or Ahmed get a big push, I wouldn't hold your breath for any above-the-line nominations. There are two technical categories where the film has a real chance: Makeup & Hairstyling and Production Design. But, no matter how good those elements may be, the film needs some kind of positive passion, so it should be fighting for a fifth spot in each of those categories