Digging Digger

I don't mind seeing the occasional controversial movie, and as I had seen quite a few people online saying "ignore the criticism, just go see Digger, its great", I did.

I knew the movie had a twist, and it does, and I won't spoil it.  Despite the screenplay having far too much of the American excessive swearing, I did enjoy seeing it for the following reasons:

*  Tom Cruise's acting in it is just great.  A difficult role, often with some lengthy and complicated lines, he is just so good at the total immersion type acting.

*  The movie's look is very arty and distinctive, and while in a way I didn't like looking at the washed out palate of colours for 2 hours, the staging of the film is quite intricate and looks expensive for a interior shot film.

*  It's daring to make a movie that ends the way it does.   I think it was pretty amazing that the studio thought it would make money, but I'm glad someone made that mistake.  I read online that audiences watch the end in silence, and yes, I agree, it is impactful.

*  It can be read as messaging in more that one direction, though, and it's hard to discuss in detail while not disclosing the grand conceit of the film.    Let's just say this - it occurred to me the next day that (mimicking a line I think Pauline Kael wrote*), it can be read as an anti-satire satire.   In fact, maybe that was its main point?    It's a film that invites debate as to its main point, and I don't mind that.   

Having noted those reasons for being glad to have seen it, I'm not saying it's perfect.   There is at least one plot element which seems to serve no good purpose, although I might change my mind if I rewatch it.  I also wish that the environmental catastrophe it portrayed was one which felt more realistic, and I really don't know why the one chosen was used.   I guess I also agree with what some critics have said: that it sometimes seems to think its funnier than it is.   But then again, it is one point knowingly acknowledging it's not really as funny as it should be.   It's a complicated movie, that's for sure.

The next movie I would like to see is Wildwood - Laika studio's last ditch attempt to have a significant hit again, after years of declining box office.  It opens soon, I hope its well reviewed...  (Update:  it is getting good reviews, but it is long.   And pretty dark and intense, so not exactly a real young kid film.  But I think it will actually have an enthusiastic adult audience who want to see AI punished by successful handcrafted film.)

   

 *   This is driving me nuts, as I remember a line but can't clearly remember who wrote it.  It was someone talking about the Japanese monster movie Mothra, and they coined it "an anti-exploitation exploitation movie".   That line stuck in my mind and came to me again when thinking about what Digger is saying about satire.   I thought that Pauline Kael had written it somewhere, but Googling has satisfied me that she never reviewed Mothra (although I didn't think she had, but thought she may have referenced it in one of her essays) and no AI thinks she wrote it.   I thought maybe I had posted before about whose line it was - Roger Ebert seems a possible alternative - and searching my blog, I see that had said it before but without attribution.  Nor does searching find that he or anyone on his site said it, even though he did refer to Japanese monster movies quite a bit.   So I still don't know where I read it...