Digger Rockwell (Tom Cruise) is having a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.
asserted
Rockwell → have → day
Calls for meetings are coming in thick and fast — and just seconds after the Southern US oil magnate manages to change out of his cat-pee-soaked silk pyjamas, a representative from his oil rig in Greenland breathlessly informs him that what was a tiny crack in the ice shelf they're drilling is now a gigantic split.
asserted
they → come → shelf
Minutes later there's an explosion, and it's safe to say that brushing it all off as somebody else's problem is no longer possible.
asserted
brushing → be → problem
The 60-something greying and portly Digger has to take his best burgundy suit, scuff-less cowboy boots and performative shovel out to face the problem head on.
asserted
Digger → grey → problem
Mexican filmmaker Alejandro G Iñárritu (Birdman, Amores Perros) is not one to pull punches, and Digger, his full-throated climate change satire and Cruise character vehicle, really lets the jabs fly.
asserted
jabs → pull → punches
The fast-paced farcical dialogue rivals some of Armando Ianucci's (The Thick of It, Veep) best, weaving in flawless technobabble and political "inside baseball" moments with theatrical flair.
asserted
dialogue → pace → flair
And then the big left hook comes.
asserted
hook → come → ?
Just as the audience figures out Digger's deal, a shock moment that bridges the first and second act becomes a catalyst of division.
asserted
that → figure → division
If this moment loses you, you're in for a hard time.
asserted
you → lose → time
But if you trust the process, Digger becomes one of the most worthwhile — if not best — films of the year.
asserted
Digger → trust → year
Don't panic, you won't find any spoilers here, as it's best enjoyed with no clue about what's coming next.
asserted
what → panic → clue
I can say this much: the disaster farce that forms Plot A is entertaining and cathartic, delivering scathing laughs at pace.
asserted
that → say → pace
At the same time, a covert Plot B boils away underneath, steadily brewing tension and intrigue.
asserted
B → boil → tension
To borrow a Gen Z phrase, Iñárritu and his co-writers Sabina Berman, Alexander Dinelaris Jr and Nicolás Giacobone really "popped off" here.
asserted
Iñárritu → borrow → phrase
Debates over Oscar-worthiness are about to heat up, as Cruise delivers some of his finest work in years.
asserted
Cruise → heat → years
The magnate with a Southern drawl and ten-gallon hat is pure clown — a performance that would fit seamlessly into Stanley Kubrick's Dr Strangelove or Charlie Chaplin's The Great Dictator.
asserted
that → fit → Strangelove
As someone who unashamedly loves Ben Stiller's controversial 2008 comedy Tropic Thunder, I've always believed Cruise's best work is done behind layers of prosthetics.
asserted
work → love → prosthetics
Which is to say, I'm fully on board with his performance here.
asserted
I → say → performance
Like a significant selection of Hollywood actors (hello Robert Pattinson), he's clearly a character actor who yearns to clown but suffers from a leading-man aesthetic.
asserted
who → yearn → aesthetic
I'm sure he's doing just fine.
asserted
he → do → ?
Cruise is surrounded (and elevated) by a bevy of talent in Digger: from Anatomy of a Fall's Sandra Hüller as Digger's exhausted half-sister, to the criminally underrated Riz Ahmed as the hapless science adviser, and beloved veteran actor John Goodman as a delightfully awful POTUS pastiche.
asserted
Cruise → surround → pastiche
House of the Dragon's Emma D'Arcy is also here, running around as a tireless political aide, and Jesse Plemons gives a typically creepy and rewarding performance as Kenny.
asserted
Plemons → run → Kenny
The pitch perfect cast makes neat work of the wordy, whip-crack dialogue — all of which is perfectly audible, sadly a real feat in modern audio mixing work.
asserted
all → make → work
How many films must we sit through this year with dialogue that becomes mush among the overpowering score and ambient sound?
asserted
that → sit → score
This one, thanks to sound editors Mike Horton and Lloyd Dudley, proves it's still possible to record and edit the human voice with clarity, ensuring every performance is heard and understood.
asserted
performance → prove → clarity
The set design from Dennis Gassner, Richard L Johnson and Anna Pinnock has a sense of beautifully realised artifice — from Digger's palatial home replete with mounted mammal heads and polar bear rugs, to gaudy boardrooms that recall Dr Strangelove's war room (the one where you're not allowed to fight), and the inspired UN General Assembly Hall, where the sound comes in clutch again to build booming percussion in with persistent cross-talk and not lose a moment of the scripted lines.
asserted
sound → have → lines
To behold it all is stunning, in the truest sense of the word.
asserted
behold → behold → word
It's been a great year for animatronics/puppets in film: Project Hail Mary's Rocky was a delight, and Baby Yoda was doing a lot of heavy lifting in snooze-inducing The Mandalorian and Grogu.
asserted
Yoda → do → Mandalorian
The scene where she gets an overzealous hand bath from Cruise as he continues talking disaster-PR on his Bluetooth call had me laugh-choking on my popcorn.
asserted
me → get → popcorn
Then she appears on a lazy Susan wearing a pink nappy.
asserted
she → appear → nappy
Trust me, you're not ready.
asserted
you → trust → me
Maggie deserves an immediate entry into the Cats-in-Cinema hall of fame.
asserted
Maggie → deserve → fame
The lasting mark of Digger is the way it twists what is a perfectly enjoyable satire into a meta-treatise about the way such narratives can redirect, sate and eventually sedate the righteous anger of the masses.
asserted
narratives → last → masses
Like the timeless classic (and, sadly, timely) Cabaret, the film delivers a nice catharsis for the overwhelming corruption of our world — but then forces the audience to examine how useful that catharsis actually is.
asserted
catharsis → deliver → audience
It's devastatingly done.
asserted
It → do → ?
It may not be a sophisticated way of describing a film, but Digger is genuinely a banger — and Iñárritu's best work since Birdman.
uncertain
Digger → describe → Birdman
As the credits rolled, I wanted to throw my arms up and declare "ABSOLUTE CINEMA!", like the Martin Scorsese meme.
asserted
I → roll → meme
But even in my praise, I can recognise that Digger will be divisive.
asserted
Digger → recognise → praise
To experience a film that sparks genuine discussion about cinema is always a win, and that's precisely what this flick will do.
asserted
flick → experience → what
Go and see it, and make sure you set aside time afterwards for a debrief.
asserted
you → go → debrief
…and 1 more, not listed.
The Aporia
