Digger Review: Time To Get Digging

I first heard of Digger back during the weekend of San Diego Comic-Con. Private events were held for people in attendance, giving them a sneak peek at the newest film from director Alejandro G. Iñárritu and leading man Tom Cruise. But those of us who didn’t go all the way to San Diego were left in the dark of just what this film was. Then the first trailer dropped, showing Tom Cruise in prosthetics and with a big belly; a far cry from his usual on-screen appearance. But even after the absurd first trailer, I still had no clue what this film was about. This didn’t change, no matter how many new trailers came out, and as I walked into the cinema to watch it, the only things I knew were that Tom Cruise has an odd-looking cat, John Goodman was the president, and it might be a musical. Was I pleasantly surprised by this complete enigma of a film, or was I left just as lost as before?

A Story Twice Told Is that even Tom Cruise? (Warner Bros.) Credit: Warner Bros. Digger Rockwell is one of the wealthiest men in the world thanks to his lucrative oil drilling business. He inherited the company from his father, who inherited it from his father (who started the whole thing). Digger lives a life of luxury in a massive mansion adorned with all kinds of taxidermy animals, with maids at his beck and call, and even access to the best veterinarians in the world to save his dying cat (if you said it was dead, I’d believe you). All this to say, he’s very much in the top 1%. But when he is informed that his oil rig in Greenland has exploded, causing a massive ice shelf to be dislodged and sent hurtling towards Europe, he’s put into a mighty precarious position. Now, with the help of his team and the US government, Digger is going to have to find a way to stop this ice shelf AND make sure no one can link this ecological disaster back to him, one way or another.

I’m very conflicted on this story, because while it tells an important message about climate change and the corruption that infects every level of society, I just didn’t enjoy it at all. The film isn’t subtle with its messaging, but it feels like a surface-level discussion of these issues, rather than a dissection of how and why these things happen. And the way its first act was paced didn’t help my lack of enjoyment, but then the first of many twists happened, and everything was recontextualised. It did give me a new perspective on this story, but I still found the execution jarring and uninteresting for a vast majority of the runtime. There were a few moments that stood out, with the second twist in particular being my favourite scene of the film (Jesse Plemons the GOAT). But for every incredible scene, or the few times the film digs deeper into the topics it's discussing, I was hit with scatterbrained pacing and cynical jokes that didn’t land at all.

Cynical Satire Someone got some bad news. (Warner Bros.) Credit: Warner Bros. Despite being a bit of an oddball, Tom Cruise is a fantastic actor, and he brings some of his best work to this film. His portrayal of the cartoonishly evil oil tycoon Digger Rockwell can be a bit over the top at points, but the aforementioned twists make everything click into place. His monologue just after the midpoint in the film is fantastic, and there are even some surprises in his performance that I wasn’t expecting (would dive more into it, but spoilers and shit). It was also nice to see him branch out and take on a role that wasn’t your stereotypical action hero; a type of character we all know he can do quite well. But even with the excellent performance, a decent chunk of the dialogue is a little too overt for my liking, and some of the line deliveries devolved into a whole lot of screaming, which isn’t ideal. Cruise’s charisma saves some of it, but there’s only so much he can do.

The rest of the cast all put in excellent performances as well, yet they have the same issues as Cruise. John Goodman as President Compson was entertaining, with his over-the-top characterisation being an obvious riff on a certain politician. I did find some of his later scenes a bit of a slog as they leaned a bit too much into the satire of the character, to the point it became a tad boring. I did find it funny that Sandra Hüller, portraying Emma Rockwell, was in another film this year that tackles the collapse of the environment, and while this is a bit more of an eccentric performance, I still enjoyed it. But both of these actors are held back by the previously mentioned issues with overt dialogue and screaming line deliveries, and I wish they had toned it down just a little bit.

Riz Ahmed as Dr Nirav Ganesh and Jesse Plemons as Kenny are the exceptions, as I found them to give the best performances in the film. Ahmed nailed the vibe of the socially anxious, yet determined Dr Ganesh, and his chemistry with Cruise was fantastic. I’d love to talk more about Plemons as Kenny, but that goes into massive spoiler territory, so I shall refrain. I will say that in the few scenes he’s in, he steals the show, and if it weren’t for his big moment at the end of the second act, I don’t think I would’ve gotten any enjoyment from this film.

Like Watching A Stage Show The centre of attention. (Warner Bros.) Credit: Warner Bros. One aspect of the film that I have no complaints about is how it was shot, because this is a pretty film to look at. The 1:50:1 aspect ratio that is used gives the film a unique feel that you don’t normally get these days. And then there are the camera angles, which always seem to be looking up at the actors instead of being straight on, which further adds to the uniqueness of the film. But even aside from that, the sets, costumes, effects, and everything else all have an exceptional level of quality that was very much appreciated. The scene in the European Parliament in particular was visually striking, with Digger’s red suit contrasting the large white room perfectly.

The last thing I wanted to touch on was the sound design, which took me by surprise as I wasn’t expecting anything from it initially. But then in certain scenes, it hits you like a truck. Some examples include when Digger meets with the President, Digger’s entrance into the European Parliament, and the final scene of the film. The music and sounds sneak up on you at the perfect times, and they left a lasting impression when I was walking out of the cinema. But the film also knows when to remove all of the noise and let you sit with the moment, and the ending of the film is the perfect example of that.

Me when the credits started rolling. (Warner Bros.) Credit: Warner Bros. I’m still conflicted with Digger . On one hand, the performances are great, the visuals are immaculate, and the film tackles an important conversation that is more relevant now than ever. Despite that, I did not enjoy most of my time watching this film. The story felt extremely disjointed, and even though it makes sense in the context of the film, it just didn’t work for me. The same can be said about the cynical comedy, which was not my cup of tea. And while the conversation is important, the film doesn’t dig deeper into the topics it brings up, only really scratching the surface. I don’t think this is one of the best films of the year, but I would still suggest you go and see this for yourself. If nothing else, you get to see Tom Cruise as an overweight, balding billionaire (and he doesn’t run a single time).

Have you seen Digger ? What did you think? Did you love it or hate it? Let us know in the comments, where we can talk all things film and TV.

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Digger Review: Time To Get Digging

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