‘Digger’: In Cruise control

Cast: Tom Cruise, Riz Ahmed, John Goodman, Sandra Hüller, Michael Stuhlbarg, Jesse Plemons, Robert John Burke, Emma D’Arcy, Burn Gorman, Mercedes Hernandez, Danny Kirrane, Pip Torrens

The film plays out as a stirring satire on the world we live in. Tom Cruise is an ageing theatre actor who plays Digger Rockwell, an environmentally unconscious Big Oil oligarch, in a play that looks to be as big budget as the film it resides in.

Tom Cruise plays the eponymous role with cartoonish relish, donning latex and wearing the eccentric billionaire cowpoke attire. He literally lives the role of an oil tycoon who accidentally causes a global environmental disaster that sets the US on a collision course with Europe, Russia in particular.

We are first introduced to Digger as a devoted cat lover who cares for his ageing feline Maggie, suffering from a multitude of terminal conditions. It’s a feint that gets us thinking positive thoughts about the central character… but not for long.

When Digger hears that the drilling he is doing in Greenland has caused the ice shelf to rupture from the coastline and is on a collision course with Europe, he, along with the US President (John Goodman) and his chief health and science safety officer Ganesh (Riz Ahmed) discuss ways to handle the catastrophe.

A crazy Digger scrambles to spin the crisis in a manner that ensures he comes off clean. The sheer audacity of those machinations will lay bare the behind-the-scenes shenanigans of world leaders and their ilk.

Cruise, with a paunch and a scraggly hairline, showcases his passion for this deeply complex role of a lifetime. He plays it with nuanced subtlety. This is undoubtedly an Oscar nomination worthy performance. Ahmed and Goodman also look likely to make it to the best supporting actor category nominations.

Cruise’s transformation is astonishing and a large part of the credit should go to the costumes and make-up. Cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki shot the film on VistaVision, which affords the finished product with a sharper and larger frame of reference.

‘Digger’ is a highly effective cinematic work. The marriage of art and entertainment has never been so sublime. The movie is incredibly funny; the technical aspects are brilliant.

This Inarritu-Cruise jugalbandi is compelling enough to draw the audience into the theatres in large numbers.