Digger

Through the years, Hollywood has produced many quirky and odd films, and they have also produced many satirical comedic films, and many times never the twain shall meet. However "Digger" has combined the two and the effort was admiral, but also a bit convoluted as the film progressed. 

The most powerful, wealthy and egotistical man in the world, Digger Rockwell (Tom Cruise) embarks on a frantic mission to prove he is humanity's savior before the disaster he's unleashed destroys everything. It's a satirical black comedy that when Digger realizes his blunder, assumes he can con the public by actually being honest hoping that approach will win. His associates including President Compson (John Goodman), Dr. Ganesh (Riz Ahmed), and others reluctantly agree that it might just work...or will it?

Others to round out the cast are Sandra Huller as Emma, Michael Stuhlbarg as the Vice President Eddie, Jesse Plemons as Kenny, Robert John Burke as General Fitzgerald, Emma D'Arcy as Lina, Burn Gorman as Defense Secretary Amos, Sophie Wilde as Hannah, Danny Kirrane as Clarkson and Ross Hatt as Dr. Berg/Reader.

This was directed in an odd and quirky style by Alejandro G. Inarritu ("Amores Perros" 2000, "September 11" (Segment "Mexico") '02, "21 Grams" '03, "Babel" '06, "Biutiful" '10, "Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)" '14, "The Revenant" '15, "Bardo: False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths" '22) plus TV, shorts, videos and music videos. This filmmaker definitely pushes the envelope of what is sellable and how much can he get away with for the price tag of art. His ability to get his actors to convey the virtues of their respective characters so as to convince the audience is amazing. "His "The Revenant" and "Birdman..." were incredible in their directing as the same goes for this film as well. His staging and pacing was strong. It was interestingly written by Alejandro G. Inarritu, Alexander Dinelaris, Nicolas Giacobone and Sabina Berman, based on a story by Sabina Berman, Alejandro G. Inarritu and Jez Butterworth. Now, did you catch the number of names here? As I've mentioned before, when there is more than two writers on any given project, it has a tendency to become convoluted and confusing--too many hands in the pot? Probably, but less writers typically equates with a stronger script. This isn't always true, but usually its a wise realization. The premise here was uproarious and quite clever, but the way it was written simply became confusing. Such as there were scenes where we were viewing a film, and then it was then a film within a film. It was an original format, but it became bogged down around a third of the way through. The first part of the film was funnier and better crafted (writing wise). The best aspect of this film was that of Tom Cruise as Digger. His performance and John Goodman's performance as the President were incredible and both could be looking at Oscar nods come that time along with the cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezski asc/amc "Birdman..." '14, "The Revenant" '15).His style is amazing and this was shot in VistaVision and presented in an IMAX version if you like.

Certainly if you like director Inarritu and actor Cruise, you'll love this. This is definitely a film that Cruise went out on a limb to perform and he did a phenomenal job. Is this film for a wide audience appeal? Probably not, but the acting, direction and photography is well worth the price of admission.

Out of 4 Stars: 2.5                                          Rated: R                                    129mins.