A rescue mission with the wrong hero
Digger Rockwell is used to having enough influence to shape the world around him. When a disaster threatens that world, he wants to control the response too, even though his own activities helped create the danger. The contradiction is the starting point: the person presenting himself as indispensable may be someone everyone urgently needs to question.
The film places environmental catastrophe alongside the language of leadership, public relations and personal destiny. That combination invites a particular kind of viewing. Instead of simply asking whether Rockwell can solve the crisis, consider how his wish to be seen solving it affects every decision. Saving people and preserving an image are not necessarily the same objective.
Tom Cruise at the centre of an ensemble
Cruise plays Rockwell in a film directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu. Riz Ahmed appears as scientist Dr. Nirav Ganesh, John Goodman as President Compson and Sandra Hüller as Emma Rockwell. Michael Stuhlbarg and Jesse Plemons also feature. The cast places business, scientific and political perspectives around a central figure accustomed to being the loudest presence in the room.
Iñárritu shares screenplay credit with Alexander Dinelaris, Nicolás Giacobone and Sabina Berman. The premise and the comedy-drama classification point towards satire, so it is worth approaching the film with an appetite for argument and exaggeration rather than expecting a straightforward account of a real industrial accident.
What to discuss afterwards
A productive conversation could begin with the difference between responsibility and reputation. Can a powerful person meaningfully accept blame while continuing to demand control? Another question concerns the people around that person: professional expertise can become complicated when its employer is also the source of the emergency.
At a little over two hours, this is a substantial film-night choice. The US R classification cites pervasive language. Its ideas are likely to suit viewers interested in the overlap between climate anxiety, immense wealth and celebrity, especially when they are comfortable with a central character whose claims to heroism deserve scrutiny.
