Alejandro G. Inarritu, director of The Revenant, and Birdman, has come out with his new movie Digger starring Tom Cruise. Released on October 2nd, the film has already gotten conflicting buzz from audiences with some saying it takes fantastic risks, while others saying it falls short of what it attempts to accomplish.

In the world of movies, marketing is essential. Today more than ever we see studios trying new creative approaches to drive people out to the cinema, like the YouTube show Hot Ones which has celebrities trying different spice levels of wings while attempting to answer interview questions and promote their upcoming projects. Because of the impact good advertising has on the box-office, it’s very difficult for a studio to hide the plot of the film- and yet somehow Digger does just that. Distributed by Warner Bros, this film appeared to be a drama about an oil tycoon during a disaster…but beyond that the plot of the story was left very vague. The selling point of the film relied on the star power name of Tom Cruise, and once the movie got closer to release the studio leaned into the conflicting reviews to play on peoples curiosity. After seeing the film myself I can say Warner Bros. made a very strategic choice- and by keeping audiences blind as to what the film really is about made the two hour experience in the cinema all the more fun.

“For a movie marketed on the star, it sure feels like you’re watching an entirely different person onscreen.”

Digger leans into an absurdist lens. Tom Cruise is over the top in an incredible performance which has the possibility for future Oscar buzz. It’s something we haven’t seen from Cruise in a long time as his last couple movies were apart of the Mission Impossible franchise. Inarritu’s movie is not an action flick but rather a satire, a great change of pace for the next era of Cruise movies. It was electric sitting in the theatre and watching the character of Digger Rockwell. This man takes up so much space, and is so loud, that you’re guaranteed to never be bored. Tom Cruise really disappears into this role from the makeup, to the accent, to the attitude. For a movie marketed on the star, it sure feels like you’re watching an entirely different person onscreen.

For about the first third of the movie you sit through what appears to be a political satire, and then a directors voice rings out and a production crew steps into the frame. What was a story about a greedy man in oil has now become a stage play, and we are the audience. It’s reminiscent of the Wes Anderson film Astroid City in where we see both the creation of the production, and the production itself. Switching between these two forms we get two stories in one. On one side of the coin you have Digger Rockwell whose oil rig in Greenland has caused a glacier to break off and head towards Europe, making him responsible for thousands of deaths. On the other side, you have an actor doing rehearsals for the cult classic play ‘Fossil Fools’ before it opens that night. Both of Cruise’s characters have their own battles and their own layers, and once the movie begins switching back and forth between the two stories it adds to the chaotic nature.

“What was a story about a greedy man in oil has now become a stage play, and we are the audience.”

This movie also reminded me a lot of Yorgos Lanthimos due in part not only to the satire element but also for the cinematography. There’s lots of wide shots, and nearly every individual character shot is framed on a low angle. When a movie overuses the power that a low angle shot can hold, it no longer makes the characters feel like they wield power, but instead creates a more absurd and comical tone. During scenes, particularly between Tom Cruise and John Goodman (who plays the president), where the characters come at each other in rapid succession, the camera lens distorts their faces and brings out laughs from the audiences. It’s impossible not to find these moment humours, and is a thought out stylistic choice which conveys so much without the use of words.

There’s no right answer as to how you can view a film. Each person might see something different based on their own knowledge and experience, but I see Digger, in the most basic sense, as a commentary on how powerful men react in the current climate crisis of our world- and how the image shown to the public is not always as it seems. In the film, once the glacier has hit Europe and begun destroying cities and taking lives, Digger Rockwell makes a speech in front of powerful money hungry men who want to hold him accountable. All the men in the room are outraged, and they want to point their fingers at Rockwell to take the heat off their own backs. But what Rockwell does next is so interesting, and fantastic writing by Alejandro G. Inarritu. He takes full accountability of what happened, and then says the hard truth no one else wants to say out loud; those men in the room who cry out and want the oil mining to stop don’t truly want Digger Rockwell’s business to end, despite the horrible disaster. Each man in that room of extreme wealth has shares in the company, they make profit off Digger. And furthermore, they all enjoy the comfortability of their lives with heated rooms and electricity. A movie like this hit theatres at the perfect time with the growing concern of AI use. People are realizing the issues the use of artificial intelligence poses as it uses monumental amounts of water. This speech by Digger specifically hits those points people are speaking up against in today’s world, and shows you the hypocritical side of business- higher-ups may act outraged at the environmental costs, but it’s their own selfishness that drives them forward. The chances of AI use ending is very low, so it begs the question as to what our future looks like. At the end of Digger, the future is an apocalyptic wasteland created by the self-centered nature of men in charge.

A movie like this, with all its quirks and creative risks, is bound to be polarizing. Some audiences will love it and applaud Inarritu’s creative vision, while others might not enjoy a story as unique as this one. Even if you don’t enjoy the movie, you cannot deny the creativity that flows within every frame. Hopefully, a success in marketing such as this could open doors for a new era of advertising and show studios that audiences don’t always want the plot to be spoiled by a trailer. Sometimes the best feeling is sitting down in a dark cinema and being completely surprised.

Written by Faith Kolenosky

A Few Perspectives