‘Digger’: Tom Cruise-Led Ecosatire Is More Intriguing Than Entertaining

A bizarre film with all the subtlety of a shovel to the face, Alejandro González Iñárritu’s Digger is nonetheless an utterly fascinating film to behold. It’s an ecosatire in the vein of Dr. Strangelove that doesn’t quite possess that film’s elegance, and Digger almost seems to be satirising itself at times with its unmarketed framing device.

It’s still hard for me to say if I liked the film as a whole, but it did consistently hold my interest thanks to a delirious (complimentary) Tom Cruise performance and a truly gonzo way of framing its own existence. It’s a deeply uneven work that some will find engaging, and I suspect even more will find frustrating – but either way, your feelings on it are practically guaranteed to be strong.

Digger Rockwell (Cruise) is a megalomaniac oil magnate who, after ignoring several warning signs, becomes responsible for an unspeakable ecological disaster. It now falls on him to save the world he’s ruining, alongside the geriatric President Compson (John Goodman) and a meek scientist in his employ, Ganesh (Riz Ahmed).

That’s what you’ll figure out about Digger from the trailers, but it contains a much stranger framing device that’s best discovered in the context of the film. Through it, Iñárritu has a lot to say about the current state of the world and our seemingly inevitable climate-related doom, even if it’s a bit too obvious with its commentary much of the time.

Digger may not be great, but it is interesting

Still, that heavy-handed commentary is anchored by a remarkably committed performance from Tom Cruise, who swings for the fences in a bet that mostly pays off. It’s been a while since the man has really thrown himself into a role this challenging, utilising both his natural intensity and surprising penchant for comedy to his advantage across the film’s runtime.

Not since Tropic Thunder do I think Cruise has played a character so obviously against his type, and it’s not hard to see he’s having a blast in Digger’s boots. It’s particularly fun to see him interact with a cast of other buffoons – John Goodman’s geriatric President Compson is a particularly funny scene partner for him, as is a particularly great Riz Ahmed – even if the film around it often fails to match the calibre of actors it employs.

The biggest crime of Digger is its apparent wish to be recognised as an act of great satire – even the strange framing device seems to indicate Iñárritu grappling with film’s existence himself, and the role of art in making fun of the people ruining the world. Yet it feels like there’s an insecurity at the heart of the film that can’t be reconciled, like its afraid that you won’t understand the depths of its commentary.

In actuality, Digger’s is simply not deep enough for such thudding obviousness, no matter how ornate its production design or how big its performances aim. Yet despite its myriad flaws, the film nonetheless intrigues enough with the sheer audacity of its existence. Digger may not be a great film, but it is an interesting one; for that reason alone, it’s certainly worth giving it a shot to see how you feel about it.

★★★

Digger is in cinemas now.