If you can’t be a good example, become a dire warning.

In the Rockwell family of generational wealth, Digger (Tom Cruise) carries on the legacy of oil tycoonery as his predecessors did, making any and every deal to keep the black gold flowing from any rock they can squeeze it from. It isn’t as if there haven’t been warnings from his own expert Ganesh (Riz Ahmed) — and the occasional yet minor ecological setback — but certainly nothing that could be directly attributed to the company. His sister Emma (Sandra Hüller) is even working on renewable technologies to offset the toll their family business is taking on the world, but nothing unrecoverably disastrous has happened… until it does. With blame being pointed from Digger himself all the way up to the President of the United States (John Goodman), it’s time to face the music… and it’s a full orchestra.

Known for taking big swings in films like Birdman and The Revenant, director Alejandro G. Iñárritu co-wrote the screenplay along with four additional writers to achieve this nested narrative. It clearly remarks on modern politics, corporate comb overs, and impending environmental destruction, while also leaning into a character study of the kind of person leading such a charge. The farcical elements in the ad trailers feel artificial and over-the-top, from the pale pancake makeup to shades of gray in even the brightest light, yet there’s something more lurking just below the surface, perhaps a bubble of insight or a grain or truth. Arguably the world’s last movie star, Tom Cruise doesn’t go gentle into that good night, but what’s actually going on here?

Catharsis, the movie. Viewers bear witness as things start to go wrong for the main character, but in a narrative twist, the self-examination occurs from both inside and out. This Inception-esque layer won’t be accepted by everyone, but it does lend itself toward introspection in the most Hollywood of ways… extending an olive branch as a promise it will all make sense. In spite of initially feeling like a cheat, it does work, but when the actual ending occurs, the intent hits like a rogue iceberg. We know what’s coming in the same way the world feels it coming, but the question no one asks loudly enough is why no one is doing anything or holding folks accountable before disaster strikes.

There’s a Vanilla Sky reference or two here, and the marketing suggests a farce of Don’t Look Up proportions, but the absurdity of the footage is given weight and distance in certain moments. Similar to the structure of Late Night With the Devil, the assurance and confidence happening in front of the cameras strongly conflicts with the backstage machinations until the two slam into one another; only then can anyone appreciate what Jesse Plemons brings to the production. If it feels like I’m dancing around key plot points, you’re correct, because viewers quickly discover the movie they bought a ticket for isn’t exactly what they thought. Who in their right mind willingly shows up for their own intervention?

There is no mid or after-credits scene, but the end credits are a scene unto themselves, used to a much more haunting effect than what Beau Is Afraid attempted. It’s unfortunate audiences have lost patience for a slow-burn narrative, so I recommend sticking around, paying attention, looking for clues, and for those who will listen, recognize the enunciation of truth. And the truth is, there is something terribly wrong with this world, isn’t there?

Digger is rated R for pervasive language, but if you’re looking for the guilty, you need only look into a mirror.

Four skull recommendation out of four