The latest blockbuster from Alejandro Iñárritu is a wonderfully unique film.
Stubborn, arrogant and hated by many, Digger, the film, is a lot like Digger, the character. The movie is brazen in its message and uncompromising, in a way that makes it a better film but a worse product.
The box office results do look disappointing and, sitting at just 53% on Rotten Tomatoes, its reception certainly could have been better.
The actual film that lies under the numbers, however, is deep, clever and highly insightful if you’re willing to hear it out. There’s a reason why, already, many think the film will become a cult classic in a few years.
An Unusual Blockbuster
Almost everyone going into this film will have no idea what it’s actually about. That’s not just because of it’s somewhat poor marketing but also from a very deliberate plot twist. It’s not a musical but all I can really give away is that if you think it will be simple caricature, you’re wrong.
Digger is not just big-budget, it’s also artistic and weird. For a blockbuster, it’s story and presentation feels remarkably stylised and unusual. It’s one of the many things that makes it better but also make it sell less.
There’s been jokes that most of the roughly $170 million budget went to Tom Cruises wages, which does seem to be the case in the final cut. While the film is technologically stunning, it seems most of the costs came from production delays and overruns. Alas, that is Warner Brother’s problem and not ours.
Tom Cruise is obviously the big headliner, and he does absolutely incredibly, mainly because you don’t notice his role. Aside from the heavy cosmetics, Tom Cruise’s performance is unique and excellent.
Also excelling is Riz Ahmed, who delivers a great but muted performance and John Goodman who is loud, boisterous and very funny as the President. The key thing is that Digger has a surprisingly narrow cast which works well to its benefit. All of this is given with a minimalistic soundtrack consisting of farcical sounding originals and the subtle melancholic tunes of the Ink Spots.
Cinematography is incredible here, which is able to appear both unbelievably beautiful and glossy in a way that really serves the story the film is trying to tell. From the very opening shot, Digger makes it clear that it won’t shy away from complex camera work and delivers throughout.
A major headline has been the greyscale but nevertheless wonderful production design, which has been consistently praised across the film. The location its set in and how characters move around them is delivered beautifully, even by admission of the critics.
Privileged Preaching
With that being said, the film does struggle with a mightier than thou tone and has a certain pretentiousness that may turn audiences off, particularly relating to its messages on climate.
A decade of Hollywood preaching on saving the planet has left many audiences cynical and Iñárritu wades into the issue both with profound insight but also with profound arrogance. The message of collective responsibility for the planet is unpopular as ever with audiences and the critiques on wider climate activism seem hypocritical.
Iñárritu struggles with the impossible task of criticising the discussion of the climate while discussing the climate and though he has some interesting points to make, they suffer from the appearance of a Hollywood snob looking down on their audience. Iñárritu is certainly not the first Hollywood director to discuss the climate, but he does so in a unique way.
Many will understandably struggle with sympathising with the message and Iñárritu certainly didn’t make it easy for himself, but Digger certainly provides a unique take on the crisis.
Should I be one of the few to watch it?
Regardless of the box office firestorm surrounding it, it’s almost certainly worth at least watching as one of the most unusual blockbusters to be realised in recent years. Plus, it’s great to find out just why the critics hate the movie so much.
Even if you’re not necessarily a fan of pretentious or unusual films, there’s still a lot that can be appreciated. If you don’t like the messaging either, it’s still a massive production in a year that has largely been filled with indie films.
Digger could have been yet another boring blockbuster, instead it will go down as a weird one and that alone makes it worth significantly more than other films of its genre.
Featured Image Credit: Warner Bros Pictures
2nd year History and Journalism Student
Politics Editor and Head of Podcasting
Also writes on Substack @jamesmcintyre609599
