What can I say about Digger? Honestly, what can I say about it?
At the press screening, the studio asked us not to give away the film’s twists, which makes reviewing it a little tricky. Those surprises were actually some of its best parts. Everything surrounding them? That’s where things get harder to recommend.
Directed by Alejandro G. Iñárritu, the film stars Tom Cruise as Digger, a wealthy oil tycoon who comes from a long line of wealthy oil tycoons. He has an ancient cat he refuses to let die, doesn’t take “no” for an answer and has enough friends in powerful government positions to do pretty much whatever the heck he wants.
Like drill for oil in Greenland.
That becomes a problem when Dr. Ganesh (Riz Ahmed) arrives at his mansion one morning with some alarming news: Digger’s drilling rigs have caused a crack in a massive ice shelf, and a catastrophe is imminent. For once, Digger decides to take responsibility.
Kinda.
He knows he needs to stop the disaster, but he also knows how much money he could make in the process. Even with mass destruction looming, there’s apparently still a business opportunity to consider.
President Compson (John Goodman) and his cabinet descend on Digger’s mansion to come up with a solution. Their big plan? Bomb the now-floating wall of ice, which is roughly the size of Boston, to smithereens.
Naturally, that only creates even more catastrophic problems.
I like almost all of Cruise’s movies, and I especially love when he goes into full-on character actor mode. Watching him step away from his usual leading-man roles is part of what made me want to see this. But here, everyone’s performances are so exaggerated and over the top that they become distracting and after a while, it’s exhausting.
An early reveal gives you a reason for that approach. Without getting into spoilers, I understood why these characters were behaving the way they were. But understanding the choice didn’t make watching it any more enjoyable.
It also doesn’t help that I couldn’t find a single redeeming character in the entire film. Not one. That alone doesn’t have to sink a movie, but these people never became compelling enough to make up for how much I disliked them. With the fate of the world hanging in the balance, I found myself wishing I could spend less time with the people supposedly trying to save it.
There is one scene, though, where Cruise really shines. Digger delivers a long monologue in front of a room of world leaders, and it’s easily one of my favorite moments in the film. For all my frustration with the performances elsewhere, I was completely hooked here. It’s the kind of scene that reminds me why I love seeing Cruise take on roles like this, and I wish more of the film had worked that well.
Goodman is fine, as is Michael Stuhlbarg as the vice president. Jesse Plemons also turns up in a role best left unspoiled. Sandra Hüller, however, feels wasted as Digger’s sister. With a cast this good, “fine” and “wasted” aren’t words I expected to be using so often.
I was hoping Digger would feel like a throwback to the films of the ’70s: daring and a little weird. The ingredients are certainly there, but for me, they never come together into something satisfying.
I can appreciate Cruise taking a chance, and there are a few surprises here that I wish I could talk about. I just wish the rest of the film had given me as much to enjoy.
