Digger
Digger is a really difficult movie to explain. It is a satire in which the selfish arrogance of wealth and power literally causes a massive climate catastrophe. It is also a satire of satires; movies that point a finger at cultural issues, but have nothing of substance to say about them. It features a boisterous Tom Cruise, in prosthetics, chewing up every scene as an oil tycoon knowingly leading the world toward disaster. He takes a big, meaty, bite out of this role, definitely adding an element of camp. This is a comedy, a satire and a social commentary rolled up into one messy package.
There is a lot going on in Digger (121 minutes, minus the end credits). What it lacks is a clear objective. Okay, it mocks reckless greed and it mocks the lazy use of satire as a storytelling device. But to what end? It isn’t funny or insightful, and its cleverness is smug and insulting. Alejandro González Iñárritu is a very ambitious filmmaker who regularly plays with complex themes. Here, he throws a bunch of them out there, using bold narrative choices to convince the viewer they are watching something profound, yet he never digs into the implications of what he presents. It is empty.
This is certainly not a boring movie. There is far too much going on for that. Half the time the actors are overplaying, yelling and gesticulating wildly. The other half they are quiet and somber. It is jarring from one scene to the next. It is inconsistent as a strategy, which is not a tactic we run into very often. Yet it never justifies its existence with a purpose. It is an intriguing misfire.
Digger Rockwell is an oilman who loves only himself, money and his dying cat. When his arctic oil rig explodes, sending a glacier floating toward Europe, threatening the lives of hundreds of thousands of people, he must come up with a plan to save his business and his country.
The problem with discussing Digger in any detail is that, approximately half an hour in, there is a twist that completely redefines the premise. I would prefer not to reveal where this goes. Every viewer has the right to be annoyed in real time by where Iñárritu chooses to take this. Essentially, he knows some of this material is bad; the characters even comment on its quality. However, he never gives us a reason to care. It is well made, creatively staged, entertainingly acted and a total waste of time.
Tom Cruise is so bizarrely over the top as Digger, a caricature of an eccentric Texas billionaire, that it is nearly impossible to look away. Seeing him cruelly cut down his underlings, dote over his decomposing cat or dance around with his prized shovel is a look we haven’t seen from him before. He is good at it. Riz Ahmed, as a scientist not afraid to tell Digger exactly what he thinks of him, also seems to be enjoying himself. Then there is John Goodman as the president of the United States, dying of “cancer of the asshole,” Michael Stuhlbarg as his vice president and a sadly underutilized Sandra Hüller as Digger’s angry sister. Nobody seems to be in tune with the tone, probably because Iñárritu never settled on just one.
Digger is a weird movie with big ideas and no one to streamline them into something coherent. Some are raving about it, as though attempting to do something different automatically qualifies it as a success. Alejandro González Iñárritu is already responsible for Amores perros, Babel, Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) and The Revenant. Clearly, his vision has resulted in greatness and likely will again. Ambition, when unchecked by studio heads, can sometimes lead to an obnoxiously self-important project. Unfortunately, that is precisely what happened here.
2 out of 5
Cast:
Tom Cruise as Rockwell
Riz Ahmed as Ganesh
John Goodman as President Compson
Sandra Hüller as Emma
Michael Stuhlbarg as Vice President
Jesse Plemons as Kenny
Directed by Alejandro G. Iñárritu
Screenplay by Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Alexander Dinelaris, Nicolás Giacobone and Sabina Berman
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