There is no other director who represents the aloof maverick energy of Tom Cruise quite like Alejandro González Iñárritu.
In his last three films, “Birdman”, “The Revenant” and “Bardo”, Iñárritu and his crew endured challenging productions to achieve complex long takes and tracking shots that mirror his surrealist narratives. Cruise, on the other hand, is equally ambitious in his pursuit of cinematic spectacle, so a collaboration between them was inevitable. It’s an odd mix, especially with two of the most persistent minds in Hollywood, but it is fascinating either way.
“Digger” marks their first film together. Iñárritu directs Cruise (and also wrote the screenplay with Sabina Berman, Nicolás Giacobone and Alexander Dinelaris) in this big-budget
, global satire about billionaire oil tycoon Digger Rockwell, who needs to convince the world that he’s no villain after his business causes a global catastrophe.
Rockwell is a big shot buffoon who couldn’t care less. It takes 15 to 20 minutes of lengthy back-and-forth with his subordinates before it becomes clear that one of his oil rigs in Greenland has leaked methane, causing a massive iceberg to break away and drift towards Northern Europe and other parts of the world.
When it was time to go public and warn people about the mess he’d created, Rockwell pulled out the victim card and gave a “cry for help” speech, telling everyone that they had always been the enablers of the problem from the get-go.
Digger Rockwell is no hero or villain. He’s a caricature we’re supposed to laugh at. In a joke, he is both the setup and the punchline. It’s a tricky character that made me question why Tom Cruise agreed to play him, since the film never wants us to sympathise with him. Is this a creative exercise for Cruise after years of jumping in and out of planes as Ethan Hunt? Another stunt, but for award recognition?
The great thing is that Cruise pulls it off. He embodies the character in different layers so convincingly, as the film demands. In fact, he may get his competitive Oscar trophy for “Digger” if the momentum holds, but personally, I wish we got to see more layers of Digger Rockwell than what we saw on screen.
“Digger” is difficult to review without revealing what the film actually becomes, which, regardless of what mood you are in, could make or break the whole experience. It’s fascinating to see it unfold, hearing both gasps and murmurs of confusion in my screening. At times, I felt the film was just going for the novelty of its surprise when it could have been sharper.
“Digger” is a satire through and through, but its nihilistic tendencies could have been balanced with something more profound and hopeful. It is brave, but it lacked the soul to be one.
“Digger” is now showing in cinemas.
Features images from Warner Bros.
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