Director: Alejandro González Iñárritu
Starring: Tom Cruise, Riz Ahmed, John Goodman, Sandra Hüller, Michael Stuhlbarg, Jesse Plemons
Certificate: 15
Run Time: 129 mins
Digger is the intriguing new big-budget Alejandro González Iñárritu film that sees the multiple Oscar-winning Mexican director pair with Tom Cruise and a star-studded cast for a satirical black comedy shot on VistaVision. Wearing rather a lot of prosthetics, Cruise plays an aging oil tycoon, who colludes with U.S. President Compson (John Goodman) to extract oil in Alaska and Greenland. Despite repeated warnings, Digger learns that one of his rigs has malfunctioned, and a sizeable ice shelf is hurtling its way towards Europe which will trigger environmental catastrophe, prompting him to very quickly meet with Compson and his staff to find a resolution.
The reception to Digger has been rather divisive, and this is a hard film to review because of several twists that have a fundamental effect on the story. I find myself mixed, erring towards being more negative than positive. This is a film that’s deliberately provocative, and while it has some admirable aspects, I found large portions of it a trudge. It reminded me of Dr Strangelove with elements of Don’t Look Up, the latter of which deals with similar themes with more profundity.
I’m generally not a fan of Tom Cruise, and his filmography is rather varied in quality – while I love Eyes Wide Shut, Collateral and Rain Man, he’s made than his fair share of films where I find him a smug screen presence. Cruise’s performance works here, and he conveys the absurdity of the wily oil tycoon with a real energy. It’s a shame he’s saddled with some rather indulgent dialogue, and a scene in which he delivers a monologue that some are touting as the film’s high point dragged in my view.
The always reliable John Goodman is the star of the show here though, with a very multi-layered character that demonstrates a lot of comedic chops. Jesse Plemons and Riz Ahmed are the other highlights, although I found Ahmed’s character often exhausting, and it’s a shame that Sandra Hüller and Michael Stuhlbarg get seriously short-changed with underdeveloped characters.
Outside of the performances, the film’s handsomely shot by Emmanuel Lubezki, who won an Oscar for his work on both Birdman and The Revenant. While Digger looks like an expensive film, there’s nothing here to rival the camera work of those films, be it Birdman‘s illusion of a single continuous shot or the tremendous opening battle of The Revenant. The production design is very admirable though, with the minutiae reminding me of a Wes Anderson film, and there’s an exceptional debut score by Cosmo Sheldrake, which does a lot of the heavy lifting.
Digger‘s biggest problem is ultimately its script and ideas – it often felt like an indulgence and it’s a film that’s very pleased with itself. The more I think about it, the more surface-level its ideas are. And it’s not a film that’s had much staying power, which is why I’m leaning more negative – I don’t see myself rushing to rewatch it. Iñárritu is a brilliant director and he really shines with his drama works. I’ve liked his satirical black comedies (Birdman, Bardo and now Digger) less, although this is a stronger film than Bardo, which I found a particular patience-testing exercise.
