Spoiler alert: “Digger” isn’t just about an oil tycoon.
For years, audiences have wondered what exactly the film, directed by Alejandro G. Iñárritu and starring Tom Cruise, was going to be. “Digger” marked something of a return for Cruise, who has spent the past decade or so largely committed to blockbusters and action filmmaking and seemed to be here returning to a role closer to his work in “Magnolia” or even “Tropic Thunder.”
But the first teaser for “Digger,” which mostly just featured Cruise dancing with a shovel, didn’t clear much up, nor did the basic premise: “The most powerful man in the world races to save humanity from a disaster he created.” Even once a full trailer came out, giving some more concrete details about the climate comedy, some audiences began to speculate that the film was a secret musical.
Well, “Digger” isn’t a musical — but it’s also not that far off. If you want to know what Cruise and Iñárritu’s massive swing is really about, read on.
Obviously, spoilers are ahead.
What is the reveal in “Digger”?
The first 30 minutes of “Digger” mostly unfold how people who have seen the trailers would expect: Tom Cruise plays a powerful oil tycoon named Digger Rockwell whose arrogance and greed triggers a global catastrophe. Digger is then tasked by the president (John Goodman) to “dig us out” of the mess he created.
But then things take a turn when a tree suddenly falls over outside Digger’s window. Then, a giant stagehand rises to set the tree upright. Within a few moments, it becomes clear that what the audience has been watching is a play, with Cruise actually playing Curtis Markson, an actor playing “Digger.”
There are a few moments earlier in the film that tip this off. The very start of “Digger” visually and symphonically functioning as an overture, with the opening of his window mimicking a drawn curtain. The comedy in the film is very heightened, with limited sets and some door-based humor that feels right at home in a farce. Much of the film feels heightened and just a bit off, a level removed from reality.
Why is “Digger” about a play?
Making “Digger” a play (titled “Fossil Fools,” as is humorously revealed in the third act) allows Iñárritu, as well as co-writers Alexander Dinelaris, Nicolás Giacobone and Sabina Berman, to expand the scope of their climate comedy. Rather than simply portraying a “Dr. Strangelove”-esque farce about a global catastrophe, the narrative device of the play gives the filmmakers the opportunity to explore how art would (or, perhaps, will) look like in the wake of disaster.
This also gives Cruise more to play with. While his performance as Digger Rockwell initially steers wholly into the broad, farcical comedy of “Fossil Fools,” his turn as Curtis Markson adds new layers to both what you saw before the reveal and what you see after. It’s one of the world’s most committed, laser-focused actors playing a committed, laser-focused actor who can’t seem to connect to the pages he’s been given.
“Digger” as a whole becomes much more interesting when you know the game it’s playing, as it immediately changes your perception of what’s on the screen. It also raises a pretty big question: If Curtis Markson doesn’t think the play he’s in is all that great, should the audience in the theater? Whether the broadness of the comedy works or not, it’s clearly a feature and not a bug.
Is “Digger” a trainwreck? Is it a secret masterpiece? Audiences are already having fun debating that one online. But it is, at the very least, a fascinating piece of big-budget moviemaking — thanks in no small part to the reveal at its center.
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