lejandro G. Inarritu’s “Digger” is a constant tug-of-war in its narrative, style, concepts, presentation, message, and even genres. Audiences will either love this consistent and forceful back-and-forth game, or they will bemoan such jarring exposition. Both the movie and star Tom Cruise revel in the outlandish characterizations and explosive moments of pitch-black comedy, but it’s the more serious drama and environmental warnings that the creators clearly don’t want its viewers to forget. The presentation itself shifts between theater and cinema, comedy and drama, satire and sincerity, and the undeniably jolting mashup works to build intrigue but also brushes with disappointment in a purpose lacking subtlety and a subplot nestled inside it’s story-within-a-story structure that doesn’t muster an equal level of fascination to its larger-than-life titular caricature.

One of eccentric oil tycoon “Digger” Rockwell’s (Tom Cruise) drilling rigs has encountered a problem. And after ignoring numerous cautionary reports and earnest security concerns, including those from his own head of safety Dr. Ganesh (Riz Ahmed), a methane explosion not only kills numerous workers, but also sends an enormous breakaway ice shelf barreling towards Europe. With thousands of lives in peril and trillions of dollars of damage at stake, Digger determines to get ahead of the story and paint himself the hero rather than the villain. But nature, both mother and human, alongside a maniacal President (John Goodman) and his horde of corrupted underlings, have other plans for the egotistical billionaire’s legacy.

Countering the film’s challenging construction are its exceptional cast and their ability to convey a dizzying range of emotions. Tom Cruise almost disappears completely in the role of Digger Rockwell. The actor beneath the prosthetics and makeup only surfaces momentarily, and while these intentional stretches sometimes lull, the rowdy outbursts that follow quickly revive the momentum. A series of surging outpourings culminates in an auditorium monologue of hard truths that Cruise delivers with truly stunning energy, ferocity, and gusto. Goodman and his crew of sycophantic advisors chew through scenery with unrelentingly colorful language while Ahmed and Sandra Huller bring some humanity to the proceedings. And Jesse Plemons does what he does best, popping up at random intervals for silly laughs or wise words.

Is it a movie or a play? Is it a drama or a comedy? A sobering admonishment of the Earth’s neglected climate or just extreme satirization of the wealthy elite’s never-ending greed? “Digger” is all of it and more, leading to an overabundance of riotous scenarios brimming with creativity and a deluge of themes all fighting for precedence, priority, and screen time. While the former is a definite boon, the latter becomes a burden.

– Joel Massie