A Reel Review: DIGGER

DIGGER, the newest film from acclaimed director Alejandro Inarritu, has been roasted badly in the last couple of weeks. Specifically, scathing reviews and a box office flop. Audiences have been kinder, calling it a future cult classic. That remains to be seen, as time is the test of all things. But for now, DIGGER needs to be looked at for what it does on the screen. 

 

Digger Rockwell (Tom Cruise), is an aging oil magnate who colludes with U.S. President Compson (John Goodman), to extract oil in Alaska and Greenland. The drilling leads to a massive ice cap breaking off and causing a global catastrophe. 

 

There is much more to say of the plot, but to do so would be a sin…for DIGGER offers a lot more than what trailers have shown. The central story of the ice cap, and the men in charge trying to solve the problem or treat it as a P.R. problem first, is set within another framework. It’s a story within a story…a nearly jarring and sudden reveal that turns DIGGER upside-down. It’s a familiar technique (used a lot by Wes Anderson lately), and Inarritu uses it to great effect; the players telling the story have already been through the scenario. 

 

What is it really about? DIGGER is first and foremost a political satire, and no punches are pulled in harpooning the current state of world politics. The idiocy of men making decisions based on money, ignoring the scientific experts and warnings…with only one possible outcome. It’s a statement on where we are as a worldwide society, and how comfortable we are with it. It’s hard to watch in places because it rings so true. 

 

Acting is tremendous from the entire cast. Tom Cruise is outstanding in the role as Digger. A extremely longmonologue he pulls off in front of a world council is stunning. John Goodman is tragically hilarious. The rest of the cast; Riz Ahmed, Sandra Huller, Michael Stuhlbarg, Jesse Plemons, and Emma D’Arcy…all excellent. 

 

DIGGER is very well made, and it’s hard to find any fault in the basics; the writing, directing, acting, cinematography, hair and makeup and visual effects are all top-notch. Whatever problems the world has with DIGGER seems to come from other places, which is not the best way to judge a film. Maybe DIGGER hits too hard. Maybe it’s the movie the world deserves. 

 

BOTTOM LINE: See it