From Slate Magazine · Dana Stevens · · 2m
Tom Cruise's Digger Movie Review
Tom Cruise's new movie Digger fails to deliver on its environmental message and meta-narrative.
In brief
Tom Cruise's new movie Digger fails to deliver on its environmental message and meta-narrative. Tom Cruise's film Digger, directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu, is a failed attempt at environmental commentary with a meta-narrative structure. Originally reported by Slate Magazine.
Digger's Environmental Premise
Tom Cruise stars as Digger Rockwell, a Texas oil baron whose reckless drilling causes a massive methane explosion.
“a jowly, prosthetics-cloaked Tom Cruise”
The Movie's Meta-Narrative
The film features a play-within-a-movie device where actors perform dual roles in both the stage production and their fictional characters.
“Is this funny? Is it meant to be funny?”
Political Leadership in Digger
The movie depicts a leadership team of President Compson, his vice president, and the secretary of defense who are ineffective in addressing the environmental crisis.
“the blustering President Compson (John Goodman)”
Tom Cruise's Role
Tom Cruise plays a character who is both a greedy oil baron and an actor in a play, with little to do beyond expounding on the film's themes.
“a jowly, prosthetics-cloaked Tom Cruise”
Environmental Message
The film's environmental message is delivered through the character of Dr. Ganesh, an environmental scientist who warns of the consequences of the oil baron's actions.
“environmental scientist Dr. Ganesh”
Director's Previous Work
Alejandro González Iñárritu has directed films including Amores Perros, Babel, and Birdman, known for their bleak and self-referential storytelling.
“Amores Perros, Babel, Birdman”
The Film's Structure
Digger uses a metafictional structure that layers the environmental crisis with a play within a movie, creating a complex narrative.
“the play-within-a-movie device”
Critical Reception
Critics describe Digger as a grandiose folly that fails to deliver on its environmental message and meta-narrative structure.
“a grandiose folly of a film”
The Environmental Crisis
The film depicts a massive methane explosion from reckless drilling that sends an Arctic ice chunk floating toward Europe.
“a massive methane explosion”
The Play Within the Movie
The film features a play where actors perform dual roles, with the director struggling to find meaning in the narrative.
“the play’s harried director (Sophie Wilde)”
The Director's Intent
Iñárritu intended to use the meta-narrative to immerse viewers in the film's moral world, but the execution feels overwhelming.
“the spectator into his movie’s moral world”
The Film's Failure
Digger fails to provide a compelling environmental message despite its ambitious structure and high production values.
“a failure on its own perhaps impossible-to-satisfy terms”
The Environmental Message
The film's environmental message is delivered through the character of Dr. Ganesh, who warns of the consequences of the oil baron's actions.
“environmental scientist Dr. Ganesh”
The Film's Conclusion
Digger ends with a bleak environmental message that fails to engage viewers in a meaningful way.
“the film’s already dull diegetic one”
What matters most
Tom Cruise's film Digger, directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu, is a failed attempt at environmental commentary with a meta-narrative structure.
