Then imagine being in an era of online film criticism in which reviewers can appear eager to take the wind from the sails of a high-stakes project the moment it's launched.
asserted
it → imagine → project
Digger director Alejandro González Iñárritu and the film's star, Tom Cruise, must feel stuck in the doldrums.
asserted
Iñárritu → feel → doldrums
With accusations of "auteurist grandstanding", being an "insufferable slog", and an obsession with opening weekend box office takings, words such as "flop" have been bandied about as if Digger was a terrible "misfire".
What it is, however, is a brilliantly executed modern take on the satire that will almost certainly be nominated for several Oscars, and one with a sharp sting that will ache long after you've left the cinema.
asserted
you → open → cinema
But I wonder if some critics unable to objectively credit the craftsmanship at work here — whether they liked the film or not — had something else on the mind.
asserted
they → wonder → mind
Indeed, a large divide has already appeared between published reviews and audience feedback.
asserted
divide → appear → reviews
Aggregator sites such as Metacritic and Rotten Tomatoes are giving the film audiences score of 7.2 and 76 per cent, respectively, compared to aggregated critic scores of 46pc and 53pc.
asserted
sites → give → 46pc
There has also been a surge in passionate defenders of Digger on social media as people encourage others to ignore the commentary and see it themselves — a request Warner Bros (in damage control) has also adopted while urging viewers to "decide for yourself".
"There definitely seems to be a push for the film to fail, with reports immediately surfacing about much the film is losing after a less than stellar opening weekend," Adelaide University's Peter C Pugsley said.
asserted
Pugsley → encourage → weekend
The School of Communication, Media and Journalism associate professor said "attention-seeking headlines throw around figures like a '$250-million loss' without indicating the film's important messages about the excesses of corporate greed, political corruption, and our willingness to stand by as environmental devastation occurs".
asserted
devastation → say → greed
"Some critics write at length how 'awful' the film is, but then engage in some serious fence-sitting about how it might be a worthy Oscar contender."
uncertain
it → write → sitting
Ben Affleck has likened the phenomenon of the pile-on to "high school bullying" and "cultural schadenfreude" or, in regular speak, tall poppy syndrome and taking pleasure in seeing prominent figures fall.
asserted
figures → liken → pleasure
So what is going on?
asserted
what → go → ?
A 'sport' in trashing big budget films
Melbourne Cinematheque president and RMIT University Associate Professor Adrian Danks said the film's trailer may have contributed to animosity because it was largely seen as being misleading.
uncertain
it → trash → animosity
He also said it was becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish between professional reviews and "the much wider ecology of film reviewing and commentary".
asserted
it → say → reviewing
"That said, there is a trend to treat some large budget Hollywood films in this fashion," Dr Danks said.
"
asserted
Danks → say → fashion
There is a tendency to be critical of high-budget, seemingly somewhat personal films that might seem something of an overstretch, and in this case starring an actor hardly beyond criticism …
uncertain
that → be → criticism
in the social media age, once this process starts, it's hard to stop."
asserted
it → start → age
He said it was not uncommon for the public to occasionally round on Cruise, usually for his wider public profile rather than his acting.
asserted
public → say → profile
"This is also something of a sport," Dr Danks said.
asserted
Danks → say → sport
"Think of the many films that have suffered this fate, for one reason or another, dating back to at least the 1960s and including films like Paint Your Wagon, Heaven's Gate, which is probably the closest parallel, Waterworld, etc."
asserted
which → think → Wagon
Dr Pugsley said prosthetics made Cruise mostly unrecognisable in Digger but, because his role was necessarily "over the top", some critics might have seen it as "blatant Oscar-bait appeal for him to finally win Best Actor".
uncertain
him → say → Actor
"Or is it a case of rewriting Iñárritu's legacy of films like The Revenant and Birdman, the latter described disparagingly by one critic as a film defined by its 'splashy theatrics'?" he said.
asserted
he → rewrite → theatrics
Has that critic seen Barbie, perchance?"
asserted
critic → see → Barbie
There have been plenty of highly favourable reviews published about Digger, of course, and they continue to emerge.
asserted
they → publish → course
But for now, at least, they remain outnumbered.
Is it group think?
asserted
it → remain → ?
Dr Danks said the early negatively that emerged was unlikely to be a case of group think, but rather a matter of needing to get a review or opinion "out there as fast as possible".
asserted
that → say → review
"We are a long way from an era where longer-form criticism — say, the writing of Pauline Kael — could make a significant difference, as a film was released in stages," he said.
uncertain
he → make → stages
"But there is also some glee in playing the game that the major studios play, where a film is made or broken on its first weekend."
asserted
film → be → weekend
Dr Danks also pointed out that there were "far fewer paid reviewers" today, and that the modern mode of criticism was often dependent on "less measured reviews".
asserted
mode → point → reviews
"Most reviewers are required to give a star-rating and, I imagine, encouraged to be a bit more polarising, in keeping with the wider culture," he said.
asserted
he → require → culture
It's worth pointing out that another satire that took aim at political failures and corruption regarding climate change mitigation, 2021's Don't Look up, was also panned by critics on its release.
asserted
that → point → release
Like Digger, it shares a disparity between critic responses and audiences': 49pc and 6.6 respectively on Metacritic, and 56pc and 78pc on Rotten Tomatoes.
asserted
it → share → Tomatoes
On that occasion, however, there was a sense some media agencies didn't like how the film held a somewhat unflattering mirror to their faces.
asserted
film → be → faces
Newsrooms are packed with big egos, after all, and having their image bruised by a film like Digger, in which Cruise's character sinks a cowboy boot into society's hypocrisy over its addiction to oil, is unlikely to win it friends — even if it's true.
"
asserted
it → pack → friends
The negative reviews all seem to touch on the same 'problems' with the film, including that it is too 'heavy-handed' in its critiques of capitalism," Dr Pugsley said.
asserted
Pugsley → seem → capitalism
"To take a more conspiratorial stance, one could argue that the owners of the mass media are increasingly willing to take the sides of the mega-rich and the fossil fuel industries, adding pressure on critics or editors to downplay such a revolutionary film as Digger."
uncertain
owners → take → Digger
As well as Affleck, a growing list of celebrities and artists including Anne Hathaway, Jane Fonda, Neil Young, Tom Waits, Guillermo Toro, Ron Howard and Alfonso Cuarón have come out publicly to defend the film.
asserted
list → grow → film
They've warned that when daring, big-budget films such as Digger are rejected, it results in less risk-taking by studios and more homogenised films (think Marvel and tired superhero franchises).
asserted
it → warn → Marvel
"I think a stand is also being made here, by people like Affleck and Young, that we do need to support films like this emerging from the mainstream, films that are outside the norm, ambitious and socially critical," Dr Danks said.
asserted
Danks → think → norm
He said many films suffering the fate of Digger found supporters and were often reassessed at a later date.
asserted
films → say → date
"I would say it's generally true that we don't really know the true value of a film until much later," Dr Danks said.
asserted
Danks → say → film
…and 2 more, not listed.
The Aporia
