Tom Cruise and director Alejandro G. Iñárritu spent months guarding the twist at the center of “Digger,” a satirical comedy that opens in theaters Friday to sharply divided reviews.
Cruise plays Digger Rockwell, a Texas oil tycoon who causes an environmental disaster, then sets out to prove he is humanity’s savior. Warner Bros. and Legendary market the film as “a comedy of catastrophic proportions.” It is Cruise’s first original movie in almost a decade and his first collaboration with Iñárritu, the Oscar winner behind “Birdman” and “The Revenant.”
The path to the screen was rough. Iñárritu, who co-wrote the script, said the production fell apart three times as COVID and Hollywood’s labor strikes upended the industry. The partnership itself dates to 2019, when Cruise was filming “Top Gun: Maverick” and learned the director wanted to meet. Iñárritu has described a late-night encounter in which Cruise arrived on a motorcycle.
Riz Ahmed plays Dr. Ganesh, a climate advisor whose conscience clashes with his employer. He told IndieWire that Cruise acted as the cast’s cheerleader during rehearsals. After one of Ahmed’s attempts flopped, Cruise halted the session and applauded him for trying something. “He wanted us to take big swings,” Ahmed recalled, because the film is one. Ahmed and Iñárritu both admit that discussing the movie without revealing its central surprise has proved difficult.
Critics have not settled on a verdict. Some dismiss the film as shallow satire, while others single out Cruise’s performance for praise. CBC’s reviewer called him fantastic and warned that viewers might hate the movie, tying its self-referential style to “Birdman.”
Cruise, 64, and Iñárritu, 63, addressed a packed Academy Museum screening this week. Cruise said he has enjoyed success since childhood and wants to keep pushing himself. Iñárritu spoke candidly about the struggle to find the film’s tone, a search he framed as part of the creative process rather than a flaw in the finished work.
Sandra Hüller, John Goodman, Michael Stuhlbarg and Jesse Plemons round out the cast. Production took place in the United Kingdom.
