The earth is a mess, and we know it. Climate change has revved up, thanks in large part to fossil fuels, and we’re not doing enough to stop it. Film has been reminding us of this for a long time, and yet, here we are, continuing on a destructive course and resulting films being made. For those of us who care, being reminded of it constantly can be mentally exhausting, though arguably necessary. We tend to look to cinema for brief relief from all negative aspects of life, but what if that relief was blended with yet another reminder of the situation we’re in? Can such a thing be made darkly comical while not being overbearing in its messaging? Does Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s latest film balance reality and fiction well enough to stand tall, or does its themes only encourage it to… er… dig its own grave?

Director: Alejandro G. Iñárritu
Writers: Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Alexander Dinelaris Jr., Nicolás Giacobone, Sabina Berman
Cast: Tom Cruise, Riz Ahmed, John Goodman, Sandra Hüller, Michael Stuhlbarg, Jesse Plemons, Sophie Wilde, Robert John Burke, Emma D’Arcy

Digger Rockwell (Cruise), an oil tycoon, has his company digging for oil in Alaska and Greenland when a massive chunk of ice breaks off and starts on a collision course with Northern Europe. President Compson (Goodman), suffering from rectal cancer, gathers his men and Digger to discuss what to do, and as they do so, it is revealed that the whole thing is a satirical play being rehearsed sometime in the future, reflecting on the actions of Digger Rockwell, played by actor Curtis Markson, that caused devastation throughout the world. Curtis simultaneously deals with his daughter’s disappearance while flying home and trying to understand the satirical nature of the play.

The film starts off strongly with Digger and his surroundings being intriguing yet strangely uncanny, and Cruise embraces a rare role that needs overt characterisation rather than throwing himself out of an airplane or some such feat. (A one-take scene demonstrates Cruise’s commitment to the character, but the dialogue gets lost amongst the fray and could easily be summed up in a TL;DR.) Then, the story throws in the twist of being a play, a framework that is at first interesting but soon becomes confusing and seemingly unnecessary. Throughout the rest of the film, the audience rides a tumultuous wave that swings between high-stake fear, disturbing humour and low-interest waffling. The scene that involves the President and his gathered men manages to highlight misogyny, racism, industrial greed and many more in a satirical way and is indeed humorous at first but somehow ends up bloated in its own self-awareness, something that is repeated throughout the film. The relief comes from the dry comedy of John Goodman (take a shot every time he enjoyably says fuck) and the relatable despair in Riz Ahmed’s performance, whose character felt like all of us watching the film as it goes on to state the obvious.

The overall production design trumps the quality of the story. The set designs, both when we’re immersed in the play and the stage designs when we’re zoomed out into a futuristic theatre, contain the subtlety that the script does not. From set dressing that shadows particular characters to the costume designs that range from bright and affluent to dull and purposefully blended to the background, I often found myself looking at the space surrounding the characters rather than focusing on the characters themselves. Iñárritu, in partnership with his frequent cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki, has a great eye for framing his shots, and the consideration for how the in-play characters are framed in comparison to each other and their respective “actors” provides a lot of food for thought.

Tom Cruise is one of the best in the biz, and Digger is no exception. He gives two great performances as Digger and Curtis, inviting us to deplore yet be intrigued by one and relate to the other. However, Cruise is not the standout in this production. That compliment is bestowed on Riz Ahmed. His performance makes much of this film worthwhile when it comes to its themes making any connection with audiences, as his environmental safety chief Dr. Nirav Ganesh represents all of us watching as the world burns thanks to the greed, ignorance, irresponsibility and narcissism of those who run it on our unconsenting behalf and make us believe we need them and the oil they provide. John Goodman also owns his scenes, a fully believable Trump-like President with laugh-out-loud dark humour that is all the more satisfying and justifiable when the President gets his appropriate comeuppance (and in quite the right bodily orifice). If I had one complaint, it’s that Sandra Hüller did not get enough screentime as Digger’s business partner and half-sister Emma. The character could have made more of an impact were she more in Digger’s face post-disaster.

It’s not unusual for Americans to poke fun at their own government, but with the current climate surrounding the power that the United States holds and its negative impact on the world, this film comes across as a little ignorant of what it could have achieved in terms of making a stronger political statement. If it had been released five years ago it could have had a better standing regarding the climate issue, but it shied away from really going in on the current state of things. Thus, I had some trouble rating Digger. When I first left the theatre I was quite charmed, but the more I thought about it, the less it left me with any lasting impression that I haven’t been left with before. As mentioned, the visuals had more of an impact than the story or characters, though many of the performances were terrific. What it tried to do thematically is admirable, but it doesn’t make it stand out amongst other similarly themed films because it shies away from really getting into its political side, relying too much on satire (maybe Curtis was right after all). I think it could be multi-nominated throughout the upcoming awards season, but it’s unlikely to go the whole hog and win anything significant, except maybe in the cinematography category.