He is DIGGER

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Coming to theatres this Friday from writer/director Alejandro G. Iñárritu and Warner Bros. Pictures is a story about a scene that is carried by DIGGER.

Digger Rockwell (Tom Cruise) is a tycoon who is about to find out what a total disaster is, that is, when he's not worried about Maggie the cat. The discovery that a rig on an Arctic ice shelf has pretty much shaken up the whole world, literally, is driven home by Ganesh (Riz Ahmed), a scientist who had been trying to warn him of the methane leaks. Now Digger has to tell U.S. President Compson (John Goodman) that things are about to get dicey with one of our country's allies.

Considering he is supposed to be close friends with all the major world players, Digger knows what the people need to hear, and he's more than happy to give it to them. Even if it's not exactly what one would expect! Letting Ganesh go first, he walks in full Texas gear and tells the ugly truths no one really wants to hear.

Cruise as Digger is a man on a mission. Walking around his wealthy life, pointing fingers at everyone else and finding most people not of any use to him, a disaster seems to bring out the best in him. That is, after he's done panicking. Watching everyone else break out into a panic is what centers him, coming up with his own suggestions. I think Cruise could not help but have some fun portraying this role. It is so far out there that it's impossible to mess it up. The deeper the trouble, the more outrageous Cruise takes his character. The character's basic I-don't-give-a-crap attitude just seems to heighten the craziness and feed into Digger's need to call out the world as he sees it. It's not a pretty world, but damn it, Digger is going to make his space in it golden.

Ahmed as Ganesh actually gave me quite a tickle a few times. Not only does he play a character that is unexpected, but he became an unexpected character for me to watch. I loved his performance in last year's film HAMLET, so in-depth and deeply serious, and in DIGGER, he flips the script, giving us the innocent face of a scientist who refuses to be corrupted by wealth and power. That belief, however, leaves him wide open to being a useful puppet with his naivete and wanting to trust that everyone around him will do the right thing.

Goodman as President Compson is dealing with cancer of the rear end and has moments where he spaces out, turning to his equally twisted staff to call out suggestions. Remind you of anyone? He is so focused on his rear end that he doesn't see what importance a block of ice has in the grand scheme of things.

Shout out to Jesse Plemons for being the character that is there, and not there, until he's there again with something that needs to be said. You'll know when you know.

Other cast include Robert J. Burke as Fitzgerald, Emma D'Arcy as Lina, Corey Johnson as Jacobs, Sophie Wilde as Hannah, Danny Kirrane as Sandy Clarkson, and Sandra Huller as Emma Rockwell. Mercedes Hernandez as Digger's housekeeper, the only hysterically sane person in the whole film.

I get what Iñárritu was trying to do using comedy and satire in a hot pot, with a dash of Wes Anderson. That being said, I'm not sure what audience he is shooting for. Of course, the trailers hint at Les Grossman from the 2008 now-cult classic TROPIC THUNDER, so that could be a draw. That audience would definitely get hints of that character, which is oddly satisfying to watch. Other than that, I don't really know where DIGGER fits. They'd also get hints of Cruise's 1999 Frank T.J. Mackey in the film MAGNOLIA. Nothing wrong with recycling.

The questions that will hit immediately are 'Is this supposed to be funny?' stretching all the way to 'I wish this were funny." In between questions, Cruise's character rampages on so fast, the questions almost get set aside without realizing it. The character of Digger reminds me of someone who lives on twenty-five cups of coffee a day and little else. Jumping from climate change to oil, to distractions (whether he is creating them or someone else), to Russia, to a twisted Nicholson's 1992 A FEW GOOD MEN Col. Jessep rant of "You want me to drill, you need me to drill!", it is exhausting. That brings us full circle back to: who is the target audience?

The saving grace is the last fifteen minutes of the film, but sitting through the first one hundred and thirteen minutes before that is the challenge, although the set designs are fantastic. But hey, if you are willing to take a wild ride and want to feel like you're in the Twilight Zone for two hours, then DIGGER is just the film for you.

In the end – it is a comedy of catastrophic proportions!