Tom Cruise: Alejandro G. Iñárritu's new film "Digger" is drawing sharp criticism. One reviewer calls it a technically busy movie with little to say.
The film is Iñárritu's eighth feature. It stars Tom Cruise as a Texas oil tycoon.
The story
Cruise plays Digger Rockwell, an oil magnate buried under heavy prosthetics.
The film opens with him trying to keep his aging emotional-support cat alive.
The cat is an animatronic prop. Digger's devotion to it is played for laughs or sentiment.
The reviewer says the intent is unclear. The cat dies and is quickly forgotten.
Digger spends much of his time at home in silk pajamas and cowboy boots. His mansion mixes old money with modern taste.
Tapestries and mounted boar heads line the walls. Large windows overlook misty landscapes.
The film is an environmental parable. Early on, Digger learns that a catastrophic event will kill hundreds of thousands of people.
His hunt for oil is the cause. He does nothing to stop it. His adviser, played by Riz Ahmed, knows the truth but cannot find a way to spin it.
Digger later faces a tribunal of world leaders. He answers with a blunt speech about the world's love of oil.
He argues that Americans, who drive long distances in fuel-hungry vehicles, share the blame.
The reviewer agrees with the point. But the reviewer says the speech comes across as a lecture rather than a rousing moment.
The twist
The film then reveals that Digger is not real. He is a character in a stage play. What viewers see is a technical rehearsal. Cruise is playing an actor who is playing Digger.
The reviewer ties this device to Iñárritu's earlier work. "Birdman" was staged to look like one continuous shot.
Cast members on "The Revenant" endured harsh conditions during production. The reviewer says that approach disrespects professional actors.
Cast and craft
Four writers share the screenplay credit: Iñárritu, Sabina Berman, Alexander Dinelaris Jr. and Nicolás Giacobone.
The story is credited to Iñárritu, Berman and Jez Butterworth. The reviewer says the film feels scattered and yet fixated on a thin premise.
The supporting cast includes several familiar faces:
- John Goodman plays the U.S. president.
- Jesse Plemons plays a member of the play's audience. He appears only briefly.
- Sandra Hüller has little to do.
The film uses many extreme low-angle close-ups. The reviewer says the cast deserves combat pay.
Cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki shot the film. The reviewer describes its look as almost entirely gray.
That includes the sets, the skies and even the actors' skin. The reviewer adds that the film's forced energy becomes tiring.
The verdict
The review focuses heavily on Cruise. The reviewer says he shouts and struts through every scene. The prosthetics may be meant to show he has no vanity.
The reviewer argues that acting to prove a point defeats the purpose of acting.
The same criticism applies to the film itself, according to the review. The reviewer says Iñárritu and Cruise are trying to sell the movie's brilliance rather than tell a story.
The review calls the film awards bait that claims to dig for truth while doing little more than moving dirt.
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