Digger Review: Tom Cruise Goes Bonkers!

Tom Cruise lets go of the suave, sexy image and embraces the gloriously unsexy with supreme confidence, making this truly impossible mission utterly possible, raves Mayur Sanap.

Imagine one of your favourite filmmakers making a film that unexpectedly reminds you of two other filmmakers you love.

That’s the joy I found in Alejandro Iñárritu’s Digger.

Iñárritu has always had a taste for wackiness and visual flamboyance but this time, he spices things up with Wes Anderson-style eccentricity and Bong Joon Ho’s social bite.

Make no mistake, Digger still carries Iñárritu’s unmistakable stamp, but it also feels like a filmmaker trying something deliciously different. That interesting mix of the familiar and the unexpected is where the fun of Digger lies.

Let’s dig into how.

Tom Cruise Is Digger

There’s a strangely morbid feeling to Digger from the moment it welcomes you into its eccentric world.

We see the sea bubbling as if something terrible is waiting underneath. We meet Digger Rockwell (Tom Cruise), an American oil tycoon living in a huge mansion with his dying cat named Maggie.

The house is rich, but the life inside is bereft of colours.

Digger gets the news of a problem at his oil operation in Greenland where an environmental catastrophe is waiting to be unfold. His scientific adviser Dr Ganesh (Riz Ahmed) warns him that a ‘Manhattan-sized’ chunk of ice sheet is heading towards Europe and would unleash a mega disaster.

Enter the terminally-ill US President (John Goodman) and his team of policymakers, who are briefed on the situation and tasked with handling the crisis.

However, the Don’t Look Up situation repeats here.

Nobody is willing to accept responsibility and instead, they all try to control the narrative. Even the egotistic Digger is not particularly interested in hearing that he may have contributed to the impending destruction.

Just when you think the film is heading towards some kind of end-of-the-world drama, Iñárritu pulls the rug.

The film comes to a screeching halt, and quite literally.

This is the exact moment where Digger becomes impossible to review in the conventional sense. This is one of those rare occasions where ‘No Spoilers’ genuinely means no spoilers because telling you what happens would rob you of the very experience I am trying to describe.

Digger has shades of Iñárritu’s Bardo and Birdman, but saying more would give too much away. But even at its most baffling, Iñárritu keeps his wacky idea surprisingly grounded. The reason is that the film nicely establishes its themes and concerns before taking the wild swing. And judging by the audible gasps at my screening, it is easy to see why the film has left audiences divided.

That is where the Bong Joon Ho comparison becomes interesting.

Like Bong, Iñárritu blends sharp social critique with wild tonal shifts by using absurdity to showcase his cynical view of human nature.

Then there is Wes Anderson. Digger carries shades of his deadpan humour, meticulously composed visuals and goofball characters, giving the film that slightly off-kilter quality.

But Digger never feels like an imitation. These new sensibilities allow Inarritu to revisit familiar themes with a lighter but stranger touch, giving Digger a distinct place in his filmography.

Iñárritu Reinvents Himself

There are also the familiar visual flourishes that come from Iñárritu’s frequent collaborator Emmanuel Lubezki. His sweeping long shots and extreme close-ups give the film an immersive feel. The camera moves from watching the characters from a distance to getting too close, and the movements works well with the film’s constant tonal shifts.

The characters are also an eclectic bunch, ranging from quirky and disturbing to downright ridiculous, and some may feel eerily familiar.

There is, for instance, John Goodman’s US Prez who turns a geopolitical crisis into a bizarre rant against China and Russia, before completely missing the point. It is here that Iñárritu’s satire hits its mark, blurring the line between absurdity and reality.

When the leaders talk about oil crisis, it inevitably brings current global tensions to mind, while the images of devastation recall the recent Nepal floods. The film carries this sharp edge throughout, pointing at climate issues, corporate greed, exploitation, and the consequences of unchecked power.

And just like Bong Joon Ho’s misunderstood gem Mickey 17, we see how easily the high and mighty can treat human lives as collateral. But then, it leaves a hopeful suggestion that perhaps the younger generation may just become the voice of reason (Sophie Wilde’s emotional crash out gets a standout moment here).

Much like what Christopher Nolan achieved with The Odyssey, Iñárritu also seems interested in reinventing himself rather than simply repeating what has worked before. That’s also the reason why the story, which Iñárritu has co-written alongside three writers, feels so deeply personal.

Some of the ideas are little too on the nose, but you have to admire a filmmaker willing to wear his concerns openly rather than hide them behind a generic blockbuster plot. Your reaction may well depend on where you stand on some of these pertinent issues.

But thankfully, Digger never turns into a dry political lecture.

The film tackles some heavy themes but keeps things goofy and often very funny. Much of that balance works because of Tom Cruise’s magnetic central performance.

Charismatic Cruise

Cruise is charismatic here. There is no other way to put it.

He lets go of the suave, sexy image and embraces the gloriously unsexy with supreme confidence, making this truly impossible mission utterly possible.

His Digger is a wealthy, self-obsessed man so convinced of his own importance that even the apocalypse becomes another stage for him. His pompous monologue about being the saviour is staged like Cillian Murphy’s triumphant speech after the bombing in Oppenheimer, but thankfully, this time, it doesn’t end in cheers.

Cruise could have played Digger as an anti-hero, but instead gives him a ridiculous confidence that makes him funny and disturbing at the same time. Physically, he pokes fun at his own image with a potbelly and balding wig. With the prosthetics and elaborate costuming, he even resembles Gary Oldman’s Oscar-winning Winston Churchill in Darkest Hour. His voice, mannerisms and swagger are exaggerated, yet he never loses that unmistakable Tom Cruise charisma.

Riz Ahmed is terrific as Dr Ganesh.

I kept wondering how Fahadh Faasil might have approached this character, especially given the character’s Kerala roots and the eccentricity built into him. But the moment Ahmed walks on to screen, he makes the role entirely his own.

His scenes with Cruise are particularly good, and the sequence on the plane where Ganesh has a meltdown is one of Ahmed’s finest acting showcases. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Ahmed land his second Oscar nomination for this performance.

Sandra Huller simply comes and goes as Digger’s half-sister and business partner Emma. There is clearly more that could have been done with her, because this character feels frustratingly underused.

Jesse Plemons initially seems to be wandering through the film, but when his turn comes, he becomes unexpectedly important in tying the story together. Again, I can’t say much more.

Flaws and all, Digger is a film that refuses to play it safe. Some swings land better than others, but it keeps the ride interesting nonetheless. At a time when big-screen entertainment is becoming increasingly formulaic, the film works as a gloriously bonkers reminder that cinema can still surprise you.

The best way to sum it up is in Digger’s own words: ‘Just bang, bang, bang! Whoo!’

Digger Review Rediff Rating: