This film is extremely difficult to discuss without spoilers, and if I didn’t discuss them here, it would be a disservice. The spoiler talk is clearly marked and italicized if you want to see the film unspoiled (which is encouraged).
Satire is supposed to be funny.
Dr. Strangelove, Tropic Thunder, Network, and The Death of Stalin are all funny. It ironically takes a lot of skill to pull off a successful and hilarious satire that is able to convey an impactful message. Despite Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu undoubtedly being one of the higher-quality directors of his generation, he clearly demonstrates that he may not be cut out for the satire-comedy sphere.
Digger is primarily about an eccentric oil tycoon who, through negligence and greed, brings an impending disaster upon the world. Digger Rockwell (as depicted in every ad) attempts to right the ship with a delusional president (John Goodman) and a stereotypical inept team of about the most cliché individuals imaginable. That is as far as I can go without major spoilers for the plot.
Digger was written by 4 people, and IT SHOWS. There are so many conflicting visions within this story that it gets muddled to its own hindrance. Digger sometimes throws shade at itself, but never enough to balance out its not-so-subtle, relevant social commentary. It falls in vain less with Doctor Strangelove, and more with Bong Joon Ho’s Mickey 17 (a film I was also not fond of). For some strange reason, highly respectable international filmmakers seem to be hell-bent on getting their two bits into the American political system. Digger, however, isn’t quite a stereotypical “orange man bad” film but rather decides to pick its fight with two main culprits: Big Oil and American Evangelicalism.
Now, the former I am not surprised at and was more copy-paste of the same exact talking points that have been done since the 1970s. It maintains this moral righteousness that oil is bad, but gives absolutely no solutions. Iñárritu takes plenty of time to critique fossil fuels, but only grazes over any and all counterpoints with convenient swiftness. What was shocking was the latter. Digger does not target anyone who believes in a higher power, but rather the extreme patriotic American evangelicalism that is unfortunately present in some aspects of the government. Specifically, some of the hokey theology that comes from individuals such as Paula White-Cain or the Christian Zionist movement. While it most likely is an expansion of the “orange man bad” culture of Hollywood, it at least is a somewhat more specific criticism.
Digger is not funny. I probably laughed about 3 times total, and I believe 2 of those weren’t at things that were supposed to be funny. Yet despite its shortcomings in the comedy department, it takes the time to TELL and EXPLAIN to the audience why it’s so funny. This is perhaps the cardinal sin of comedy. It tries so hard to be funny, and keeps trying to explain to you how it’s funny, to the point that it reminded me of the unfunny DJ from Good Morning, Vietnam who takes over for Robin Williams. If you ever have to stop in the middle of trying to be funny to explain to someone how funny you are, you simply aren’t funny. Yes, Digger has exaggerated and flamboyant performances in it (with a couple of scenes that should absolutely become memes), but there are no good belly laughs or any clever comedy bits present in the film.
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Digger has a rug pull 20 minutes in where it is revealed that we are watching a play being rehearsed. This revelation adds a bizarre plot/subplot that I still can’t decide if it saved the film or helped exacerbate the disjointedness. Later, it is revealed that the play is inspired by true events that occurred within the real world where this play is being performed, but as a satire to help everyone “cope” with what happened. While this helped add a fresh layer to the film that sets it ahead of Mickey 17, its conclusion is arguably more disturbing. Audiences are shown cheering as Digger Rockwell takes his own life at the end of this play, as if this will help heal anything.
The play is being funded and sponsored by Rockwell’s nephew (amazingly played by Jesse Plemons), which seems to insinuate that the rich need to publicly pay to humiliate their legacies and fortunes in order to atone for their sins to the public. Meanwhile, the world is still hell and ruined, with no real source of hope or redemption provided. Religion seems to be gone, and everyone is bleak, damaged, and embittered, with only uncomfortable, unfunny satire to provide them comfort. The political bias can even be seen in the background in details such as a not-so-subtly placed To Be or Not To Be poster, which clearly indicates this theater troupe’s self-righteous vision of themselves as “antifascists”. The side drama of Tom Cruise’s personal issues and critiques of the whole situation were probably the only truly emotionally engaging aspect of the film, and one of the core reasons this doesn’t fall to the same levels as Megalopolis in the flop category.
(End Spoilers)
Another massive hindrance to the film is that Iñárritu does not let scenes fully ferment to their full capacity. He was spectacular with this in films such as The Revenant and Birdman, but he seems to have lost his way in Digger. There is a scene where Digger Rockwell and Riz Ahmed’s character (who perhaps is the best character and performance in the whole movie) have a heart-to-heart that actually starts to go somewhere interesting before it’s abruptly cut off for what I assume was seen as “comedic purposes”. Another scene with Jesse Plemons’s character was being used to potentially say something actually interesting and unique, and then just stops. This was a frequent issue that permeated throughout, and I am not sure if it is to blame on the writers or the director.
Despite all these negatives, Digger does have the technical prowess that Iñárritu has become well known for. The acting is, to no one’s shock, quality. Tom Cruise has a fantastically layered performance that will most likely get him at least a nomination, and he is able to sell himself on all fronts. His character is fun to watch and engaging, alongside John Goodman, who is able to be entertaining. Michael Stuhlbarg and Jesse Plemons are underutilized and fantastic, as well as Ahmed. The cinematography was very engaging and creative, and the score was good as well.
While Digger certainly takes some ambitious swings, it ultimately falls flat at both having something interesting to say and being a funny satire (despite its own insistence). It stands as a reminder that even well-acted and technically capable films are not always the recipe for success that one may think. It makes me question as to how Warner thought this was going to make a profit, but something like Coyote v Acme wouldn’t. At the end of the day, Digger is another Oil Man bad film that offers no solutions to its perceived problems, serving as a pessimistic and well-crafted mess that fails at the most basic aspects of satire.
Thank you for the spoilers, and for fencing them off so carefully for those who don't want to know. I was inclined not to see it before reading your review and I'm glad I did as it sounds repulsive and now I definitely will not.