Digger

This is political satire, environmental warning, black comedy, social condemnation, family drama and an opportunity for Tom Cruise to remind everyone that underneath the running, motorcycles and aeroplanes sits one of Hollywood’s most capable actors. The question is whether audiences will embrace the madness.

Cruise stars as Digger Rockwell, an eccentric billionaire oil tycoon whose extravagant lifestyle has come at considerable cost to the world around him. When his negligence contributes to an environmental catastrophe, Digger begins a frantic campaign to convince humanity that the man partly responsible for the problem might also be the person capable of saving everyone. If that sounds straightforward, you haven’t watched an Iñárritu film.

Trailer contains mature content

Nothing in the trailers adequately prepares audiences for where Digger eventually goes.

The story twists, turns and descends into places that are virtually impossible to anticipate. Each scene feels like a delayed gut punch. You know something is coming, but Iñárritu takes his time determining where and when it will land.

Tom Cruise like you’ve never seen him

Cruise is virtually unrecognisable beneath the prosthetics, thinning hair, expanded waistline and exaggerated personality of Digger Rockwell. There are shades of Les Grossman from Tropic Thunder, but that comparison only gets us through the front door. The Mission Impossible actor completely dismantles the cinematic persona that has defined much of his recent career. There is no Ethan Hunt or Maverick here. Digger is unhinged, selfish, ridiculous, frightening and occasionally strangely sympathetic. It is one of Cruise’s best performances and precisely the sort of dramatic transformation that will inevitably generate awards discussion.

Yet he isn’t alone.

John Goodman is disturbingly brilliant as President Compson, bringing exactly the combination of absurdity and menace this world requires. Riz Ahmed is equally impressive as Ganesh, delivering one of his strongest performances and potentially finding himself in awards conversations alongside Cruise. The entire cast commits to Iñárritu’s vision, regardless of how bizarre that vision becomes.

Is anyone safe from the joke?

The political dimension will inevitably dominate discussions surrounding Digger. Audiences will have to determine for themselves whether this is primarily a satire of the current American administration, a condemnation of a generation’s response to climate change or something considerably broader. Iñárritu doesn’t seem particularly interested in allowing any section of modern society to leave the cinema feeling comfortable.

The wealthy, politicians, environmentalists, business leaders, activists, religious figures, celebrities and ordinary citizens all find themselves somewhere within his sights. This is where the film’s brilliance may also become its greatest obstacle.

Digger is vicious.

The humour can be hilarious, but there is always something uncomfortable lurking beneath the laughter. Humanity’s worst impulses and sins are continually exposed as Iñárritu moves between absurdity, tragedy and moments of genuine emotion. You may laugh. You may cry. You may also wonder precisely who you’re supposed to be laughing at before realising the answer could be everyone.

Including yourself.

Watching a slow-motion train wreck

Technically, Digger is extraordinary. Emmanuel Lubezki’s cinematography, the production design, makeup, performances and sheer construction of this strange world demonstrate filmmakers operating at the highest level. The film was shot entirely in VistaVision, adding another layer to its cinematic ambition. There are echoes of Stanley Kubrick and other cinematic masters throughout, particularly in the willingness to use absurdity to expose uncomfortable truths about power, humanity and our capacity for self-destruction.

Yet describing Digger as enjoyable seems almost inappropriate.

Watching it is closer to witnessing a slow-motion train wreck. You can see the devastation unfolding, occasionally want to look away, but remain strangely compelled to see where everything eventually lands. That will make this an acquired taste. Adult cinephiles willing to stomach Iñárritu’s vicious messaging may celebrate the craftsmanship and ambition. Others may find the entire experience exhausting, offensive or simply too strange. Both responses might actually be what the filmmaker intended.

The bottom line

Digger is one of the most brilliantly constructed films I have absolutely no desire to watch again. Alejandro G. Iñárritu delivers a vicious, hilarious, uncomfortable and occasionally moving examination of humanity’s ability to create disasters and then rewrite the story so we can cast ourselves as the heroes. Tom Cruise gives himself completely to the role, while Goodman and Ahmed deliver performances that refuse to be overshadowed by Hollywood’s biggest movie star.

The result is devastating and compelling at the same time. This is cinema designed to provoke rather than comfort. Whether you consider it genius, offensive or an exhausting mixture of both may depend entirely on what you think Iñárritu is actually trying to say.

Which may be precisely the point.

REEL DIALOGUE: Does your story convey the truth, or is it only believable to you?

One of the most fascinating ideas running through Digger is the ability people have to control their own narrative. Digger doesn’t merely want to save the world. He needs everyone to believe he is the one saving it.

That distinction matters.

Human beings are remarkably talented at rewriting our own stories. We can justify our behaviour, minimise our mistakes and arrange the facts until we become the hero of our own narrative. Eventually, we may even believe it.

The Bible warns about precisely this tendency: “Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the LORD weighs the heart.” — Proverbs 21:2

That verse could almost have been written for Digger Rockwell.

Our ability to convince ourselves that something is true does not make it true. Jesus takes the idea even further when he says:

“You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” — John 8:32

Truth in the biblical sense isn’t merely about winning an argument or successfully controlling the narrative. It involves allowing our lives, motives and actions to be exposed before God. That can be considerably less comfortable.

Digger spends much of its running time showing people desperately trying to convince others—and themselves—that their version of events is the correct one. Perhaps that is why this bizarre satire feels surprisingly relevant.

We live in a world where everyone has a platform, every side has its version of events and algorithms can continually reinforce whatever we already believe. The difficult question isn’t whether we can tell a convincing story.

It is whether the story we tell about ourselves can survive the truth.

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