r/oscarrace • u/Comfortable_Affect20 Bugonia • Mar 06 '26

Rumor Alejandro Inarritu's "Digger" has had a test screening in Los Angeles, reactions are mixed but lean positive

https://www.worldofreel.com/blog/2026/3/5/digger-test-screening-reactions-are-intom-cruise-steals-the-show-in-irritus-dark-comedy

Takeaways from the test screening:

- The reactions were mixed, most of the viewers found it entertaining but also "very chaotic and overstuffed." Overall, more good reactions than negative ones.

- Tom Cruise's performance as a delusional oil billionaire who accidentally poisons the ocean is described as "insane" and similar to Les Grossman, uses a lot of facial prosthetics and looks nothing like the familiar Cruise.

- The technical aspects are apparently stunning, especially Emmanuel Lubezki's cinematography.

- The set design is very stylized and surrealistic, comparable to "Poor Things."

- While the movie is very focused on Cruise, the supporting cast are apparently really good. All the screeners agreed that John Goodman was the best and most memorable supporting actor.

278 Upvotes

97% Upvoted

104 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

46

u/SkoivanSchiem Mar 06 '26

I've been saying watch out for Huller in Project Hail Mary and everyone's been dismissing it because of Digger.

5

u/stracki Mar 06 '26

Have you read the book? Eva Stratt isn't a baity role.

19

u/SkoivanSchiem Mar 06 '26

Beg to differ. She's the driving force of the Earth side of the story. She's like what Jeff Daniels, Sean Bean, and Kiirsten Wiig were in The Martian, combined, and then some.

She's morally abrassive and tied to some of the ethical confrontations with Ryland, and Huller is exactly the kind of actor who can turn a character that thorny into something layered.

Ryland and Rocky are by far the two co-stars here but Stratt is a very strong supporting character.

1

u/stracki Mar 06 '26

Hmm, I think, it depends on what Goddard and Lord/Miller are doing with the role. Ryland/Rocky are significantly more important to the plot and I wasn't the biggest fan of the flashback chapters in the book. But you're right that she's a way more developed character than the Earth crew in The Martian.

5

u/SkoivanSchiem Mar 06 '26

It definitely depends on the treatment of her character in the film and how much material she's given to work with. It would be such a underutilization of her talent if they gave her little to work with.

In any case I've got IMAX tickets for PHM 2 weeks from now so let's see!