"Digger" Film Review

Digger

Rating: 5/5

By: Nathaniel Simpson

    Alejandro G. Iñárritu's latest film, Digger, has been shrouded in mystery since its announcement. Featuring Tom Cruise in a career-defining performance, the trailers for this film seemed bizarre and promised a satirical take on the state of the world at the moment. However, when I went and saw this movie last night, I truly wasn't expecting this brilliant thrill ride that Iñárritu was going to take me on. If you seemed unsure of the film from the trailers, go see this movie. This film blew me away in the best ways possible, and I think this might be one of the best films of the entire year, which complements a career-best performance from Cruise. 

    Cruise plays Digger Rockwell, an oil tycoon whose business ventures cause a massive iceberg to break off from Greenland and be sent to the European nations, causing mass havoc and destruction. Partnering with Dr. Nirav Ganesh (Riz Ahmed) and President Compson (John Goodman), Digger must find a way to stop the iceberg and save the world as they know it. 

    I feel like it is hard to discuss this movie and how great it is due to the main plot being a giant spoiler. Therefore, I will be discussing this movie with the spoilers that the film hid from the trailers and the promotional materials. If you want to be left in the dark and go into this film completely blind, I'd recommend stop reading right now. This will be your only warning before we fully discuss Iñárritu's newest picture. 

    While the trailer and synopsis made it seem like we are seeing an absurd, darkly satirical political comedy, Iñárritu actually flips this film on its head and reveal a major plot twist - the entire film is a group of actors doing a final rehearsal for a play called "Fossil Fools" hours before the opening night performance. Cruise is playing actor Curtis Markson, who is then playing the character of Digger in a play that is produced by odd-ball Kenny (Jesse Plemmons) and directed by hotshot director Hannah (Sophie Wilde). At the same time as the play's story is playing out for us on the screen, we are also seeing the story of Curtis and how he is grappling with the subject matter of the character he is portraying and hunting down his daughter after her plane goes missing in a hurricane. 

    Honestly, this contrast in the two stories that are playing out throughout this movie is brilliant. Iñárritu has already proven himself a master storyteller, but he takes such a wild swing with this one, and for me, it works perfectly. I love how he showed the characters of Digger and Curtis, and I think there is a great dialogue consisting of the two characters and how they compare and contrast one another. Iñárritu does a fantastic job of splitting these two stories up and beautifully blending them together in the final product of this film; the pacing and structure of this film is honestly very unique and therefore works incredibly well. After this move concluded, I truly couldn't understand the hate and the negative criticism this film is currently getting. 

    While I will not be discussing the themes or subject matter in general because I think it is important for you to form your own opinion on it, I do want to say that I think Iñárritu's striking and harrowing tale of what our world could come to in the next couple of decades is truly terrifying. This movie does a great job of striking fear and sadness into the heart of the viewer, with us, as the audience, knowing that there is a high chance our world could end up like this in the near future. There are a couple of monologues from Cruise and Plemmons that I think will be studied and examined in academia in the next couple of years. 

    This is without a doubt Cruise's best performance. While there is a huge conversation about who is going to take home the awards this coming year, I think Cruise is almost a lock for the win. From the way he portrays both Digger and Curtis, he is showing off his acting chops and what he has been capable of. We arguably haven't seen Cruise in a standout role like this for over a decade, and it's nice to see him to return to this sort of prestigious acting. No matter how you feel about Cruise, there is no denying he is perhaps one of the best actors of this generation if given the right roles. Another standout here is Ahmed, who I think might have given his best performance here as well. He is straight-up hilarious when he needs to be, but he is also phenomenal as playing this doctor who has the world's best interest. 

    With that being said, all of the performances here are simply the actors at the top of their game. Plemmons, Goodman, Sanda Hüller, and company are wonderful in these supporting roles and really give it their all on the screen. It's so refreshing to see Goodman play such an absurd role again, and there were moments when the audience was in stitches at how he delivered this role. 

    In terms of the filmmaking techniques, Iñárritu once again demonstrates how he is easily one of the best filmmakers of our time. From the cinematography to the set design to the way these actors are being directed, Iñárritu simply outdoes himself. For those who can't get on board with this story or the way it is being told, there is no doubt in my mind that you have to appreciate this movie on an artistic level. 

    I think the consensus I have came to, and will continue to promote for the rest of the year, is how I truly don't understand the hate and criticism for Digger. This may genuinely be one of the most important and politically striking films of the last couple of years, and if it's not moving you or scaring the pants off of you, then you need to rewatch this film. This movie has so much to say and does a brilliant job in saying it, you just need to be open-minded enough to fully embrace this picture and everything it is trying to say.