The only moment in the film that comes to life through the synergistic passion of image and performance is a musical sequence starring Penélope Cruz as emcee and star—a imperious, cunning, witty, completely free singer, dancer, personality and comedian—in a vast, barn-like theater where Civil War troops are entertained. Her performance steals the show. I’d gladly trade all the artificial realism of “The Invitation” for a few minutes of her gorgeous skill here. There’s an entirely different movie that aspires to burst out of this scene, one that’s not at all from the book.
Overall, the contemporary plot is more engaging than the historical one, for the simple reason that Alberto and Los Jarvis live in the same world, which they most vividly perceive and recognize. Despite this, regrettably little is known about Alberto’s theatrical career. His historical research, which involved finding recordings of popular Greek songs from the 1820s with queer or gender-ambiguous lyrics, was interesting but still undeveloped. The textual literalism that dominates the plot is revealed through some astute observations—most importantly, quietly powerful revelations in Alberto’s plot. There, a few quiet lines of dialogue convey grand passion through modest innuendo better than the rest of the film through raucous description. Ladies and gentlemen, this is not a spoiler.
excavator
It is possible that the release of some classified documents caused less of a stir than Alejandro González Iñárritu’s “The Diggers,” whose plot was kept secret. Frankly, I’m not sure what I would have done if I had reviewed it prior to release; reviewers are asked not to reveal the film’s big twist. Yet this twist comes so early in the film that without it, discussion of the film would be meaningless. So far, secrecy isn’t important considering the film’s dismal box office performance. Two weeks after its premiere, the film has grossed only about $15 million at the U.S. box office, lagging behind films such as “Girls” and “Melania.” There is little risk in revealing things that the few who have seen it already know and things that many who have not seen it don’t want to know.
The eponymous character is played by Tom Cruise, wearing heavy makeup that makes him look like a cross between George Bush and Ned Beatty. He’s an oil tycoon recruited by the president to handle the emergency (played by John Goodman as a smaller version of Lyndon B. Johnson, a profane blowhard without Johnson’s brains or principles). Digger has been secretly drilling in Greenland; the result is an ice shelf that breaks off, sending a chunk of ice five times the size of Washington, D.C., on a collision course with the European continent. Digg travels to Europe with his earnest and angry head of environmental security Nirav Ganesh (Riz Ahmed) to try to avert an unprecedented environmental disaster.
The story unfolds in the style of Dr. Strangelove, a deeply cynical political satire filled with over-the-top exaggeration, lavish decorations and costumes. But it turns out that this post-apocalyptic drama is actually a play, staged on a technically complex stage. Cruise plays an actor named Curtis Maxson, who plays Digger, just as Goodman plays an actor playing the president, along with the entire cast, including the vice president (Michael Stuhlbarg), the all-male cabinet, other oil company colleagues, and the Europeans Digger encounters.
To make sure the audience understood this, Iñárritu put a poster on the dressing room wall for John Cassavetes’ 1977 film Opening Night, one of the greatest behind-the-scenes movies. This comparison does “Diggers” little favor, in that, unlike Cassavetes’ film, little happens backstage, and none of it reveals the actor’s artistry. A later episode in which actor Curtis expresses doubts about the usefulness of performing the play reminded me of a very different film, Preston Sturges’s 1941 comedy Sullivan’s Travels. In that film, a director known for his comedies longs to make serious films about the Great Depression, but he learns that troubled people crave the distraction and release of comedy. “Diggers” flips that notion on its head: the show is played for a troubled (spoiler lurks) audience in the hope of eliciting catharsis. In fact, “The Diggers” is Iñárritu’s self-vindication, as it offers a film about climate catastrophe to an audience that is bombarded with bad news every day.