Tom Cruise’s ‘Digger’ Delights Mandy Patinkin: “One Of Greatest Films”
Mandy Patinkin really digs Digger.
In an effusive video message, posted soon after watching Digger in a theater, the Homeland star implored his followers to ignore the haters and watch Tom Cruise‘s ecological disaster movie.
Patinkin described Alejandro G. Iñárritu-directed Digger as an “instant classic” and said it was “one of the greatest pieces of film I have ever seen in my entire life.”
“This is an incredible piece of work. It puts the heart and soul back into the cinema. Everything we all love about cinema, this is it. Please, please, please, run! Don’t walk, run, and see this film,” he continued.
Patinkin is the latest star to voice his support for Digger after the film was savaged by many critics and bombed at the box office. Anne Hathaway gave the movie a five-star review on Letterboxd, saying: “It’s smart and trippy and aggressive and funny and ambitious.” Guillermo del Toro, a close friend of Iñárritu, has also been staunchly defending Digger on social media.
In a written message, Patinkin added: “This movie being slammed by reviewers is beyond comprehension. Anyone who is dragging this piece through the mud should get a brain scan or see it again as they must not have been paying attention. This is one of the most daring, original, provocative pieces of art I’ve seen and bravo to every person that laid a hand on it. I’d have given my right arm to be an extra in this movie (I’m right-handed).
He continued: “This craft, like many other things nowadays, feels in peril. The systems at play encourage mass appeal above all else. Digger is a battle cry for art, for waking up, for demanding an actual attention span of your audience and for the miracle of having a point of view.”
Digger opened in theaters to an $8 million domestic debut, a $20M global start, a 52% Rotten Tomatoes critics score, and a C+ CinemaScore. Deadline reported that the film could lose around $150M.
After the opening, Cruise said he was “proud” of the film despite the lackluster box office results.
“I am so honored to have had the opportunity to create this film alongside such talented artists,” Cruise posted on Instagram. “Thank you to the entire cast and crew for your dedication, hard work, and joy. The experience was truly unforgettable and I’m so proud of what we created.”
Cruise stars as Digger Rockwell, an aging oil magnate whose drilling sets off an ecological disaster. The film’s cast also includes Riz Ahmed, John Goodman, Sandra Hüller, Michael Stuhlbarg, Jesse Plemons, Teddy Hawley, Robert John Burke, Emma D’Arcy, Burn Gorman, Sophie Wilde, among others.
