Digger may be the most nihilistic doomsday film ever made. It’s certainly the most egoistic in this vein.
“Look what they’ve done to my song, ma” writ large. The end of the world, captured in fussy, bleachy, brownish color within a 1.43:1 aspect ratio. And it’s all a big fat play called “Fossil Fools” that the audience just loves…LOVES! A brash, stifling portrait of chaos and ruination and “man, are we oil-fucked or what?”
It’s kind of amazing that Alejandro G. Inarritu and Tom Cruise and Warner Bros. actually made this thing. Because it’s not just a nihilism movie — it’s also a suicide flick. After-the-fact mass suicide, I mean, as well as economic suicide on the part of the fearless Inarritu. He’s really dug himself a brave hole here. Astonishing, in a sense.
I sorta kinda admire Digger for the audacity factor alone…for the fuck-me, fuck-us-all, fuck-your-expectations brashness. It’s alienating madhouse cinema. It’s almost exciting because of this.
Jesse Plemons gives the most arresting performance of all. I wish Digger had been about his character.
There were three people catching the 7:15 pm show — an older couple and myself.
