Digger is a wild one, and I loved it. It plays a lot like Bugonia: artsy, ambitious and happy to let you keep up on your own. If that’s your kind of movie, you’re in for a treat.
The acting hits first, and it’s award-worthy across the board. Tom Cruise in the title role is a revelation. He’s fantastic here, and it’s a side of him I didn’t know I needed. John Goodman plays the president and matches him beat for beat. Whenever either one is on screen, the whole thing gets more electric.
The writing keeps pace. The dialogue is sharp, the kind of back-and-forth that has you hanging on every word, and it lets the satire bite without ever turning preachy.
Here’s the curveball: this is a play inside a movie. On paper, that sounds stiff. In practice, it works beautifully. The sets look great, and the camera work keeps it feeling like a film rather than a recorded stage show.
My one note is the ending. It’s odd. Like Bugonia, it takes a real gamble on how to wrap things up, and that gamble won’t land for everyone. It didn’t take anything away for me, but I can see it souring the whole experience for some viewers.
Everything else is honestly perfect. The acting, the dialogue, the camera work and the sets all pull in the same direction, and you can feel the care in every frame.
If you like your movies strange, sharp and a little theatrical, go see this one. Big gambles don’t always pay off. This one does.
