Near the beginning of Alejandro González Iñárritu’s “Digger,” oil baron Digger Rockwell (Tom Cruise) is briefing the president and his Cabinet.
Digger, preoccupied with his terminally ill cat, has just set off a calamitous global environmental disaster and is meeting with the president to mitigate the fallout.
None of us, not even the most rational people, is immune to the power of emotional messaging.
The president, played by a slimmed-down John Goodman, is an over-the-top blowhard. He’s an amalgam of Donald Trump, both Bushes, and every villainous conservative politician in the history of cinema. He is flanked by a comically weak vice president, a square-jawed racist general, and a sycophantic Bible-thumping preacher.
It was funny, and I was mesmerized by the production design and cinematography. But I thought, “Why the lazy stereotypes?”
I knew Iñárritu was smarter than this, and I knew Tom Cruise wouldn’t settle for anything less than excellence. So why was the story driven by the lead character’s stupidity? Why were the other characters such hackneyed tropes? It didn’t make sense.
Then the plot twisted. My jaw dropped, and I spent the next two hours on the edge of my seat, hypnotized by what might be the greatest film of a generation.
"Digger" is an incredible film for many reasons. First, the entire cast is brilliant, and this is the best performance of Tom Cruise’s career.
There’s more to admire in the writing, Richard Johnson and Dennis Gassner’s production design, Emmanuel “Chivo” Lubezki’s heroic cinematography, the sound design and editing, and Jacqueline West’s costumes. Every aspect of the movie serves to complete the gestalt.
But what makes this film truly great is that it is unlike anything that has come before it. People ask whether it is comparable to “Dr. Strangelove” or “Citizen Kane,” but those are the wrong analogies. The closest comparison might be the moment in “The Wizard of Oz” when Toto reveals that the Wizard is merely an ordinary man behind the curtain.
Another curious thing about “Digger” is that it is executed so masterfully that it strikes an implicit bargain with its audience: Don’t spoil it. So I’m not going to ruin it for you.
And no, it’s not a movie about climate change or the oil industry. The environmental catastrophe is merely a plot device, and the stated climate science “facts” are laughably absurd, which I suspect is by design.
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“Digger” is a film about the power of storytelling, but not in the way you think. It is about the nature of performative political hate and how our elites shape the narrative to let us believe we’re winning even as the world around us falls apart.
The film is a devastating critique of politicized art, which has not only become normalized but has provided endless fodder for political commentators on both sides of the aisle.
But “Digger” can’t be easily categorized through an ideological lens. And since it is an indictment of the entire infotainment complex, small wonder critics gave it a lukewarm reception.
Warner Bros.’ marketing campaign didn’t do “Digger” any favors. Unable to reveal the real plot, the trailers were misleading. Tom Cruise’s promotional blitz could only concentrate on the film’s technical triumphs, of which there are many. It’s a shame more people didn’t turn out, but there is no way to explain the plot without revealing the twists, which don’t stop coming until the credits roll.
There’s a scene in the middle of the film where Digger offers the scientist Ganesh (played by the great Riz Ahmed) a piece of bluefin sashimi. Ganesh declines, citing moral concerns over declining bluefin tuna populations.
Digger tells Ganesh a story. It’s about the man who raised the tuna and how lovingly he cares for them. Among other things, the fish farmer gives the tuna daily massages and even sings to them.
Elated by the heartfelt story, Ganesh relents and eats the sashimi. But then we learn that the tale of the tuna farmer is a complete fabrication. Digger has no idea where the tuna came from. He just knows it’s delicious.
The point is that a good story, told artfully, can overcome rational resistance or moral objection.
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This is a lesson I learned working in media and advertising. First, take an emotion. It could be anything: love, hate, fear, jealousy. The specific emotion isn’t important.
What matters is surrounding that emotion with a story and then connecting the story to whatever product or concept you’re selling.
If you do it correctly, and if you tell the story artfully, you can get anyone to gladly swallow anything you put in his mouth. You can also get him to look the other way while you pick his pocket, make him chant for the death of a (most likely) innocent man, or trick him into mistaking cathartic laughter for victory.
Digger gives Ganesh a lesson in the basics of propaganda. And none of us, not even the most rational people, is immune to the power of emotional messaging.
That’s what “Digger” is about. The story is full of emotion, it is artfully told, and the ending will leave you elated.
But it will also give you a new sense of dread about the world outside the theater door, and perhaps you will begin to pay attention to the man behind the curtain.