Tom Cruise, 64, is one of the last remaining old-school movie stars, and with “Digger” now in theatres, many outlets have been ranking his greatest performances. The latest comes from EW, which has his work in “Digger” at #25 (WTF!).
Away from the noise of the IP-dominated last 10-15 years of his career, people tend to forget that Cruise has collaborated with some of the most legendary directors: Stanley Kubrick, Paul Thomas Anderson, Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, Michael Mann, Brian De Palma, Ridley Scott, Barry Levinson, Oliver Stone, Rob Reiner, Sydney Pollack, Ron Howard, Neil Jordan, and John Woo.
He used to relish working with these big-name auteurs, but over the last decade or so, he has buried his talents as a dramatic actor in favour of ‘Mission: Impossible’ movies. I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again: many tend to forget just how great an actor Cruise really is. You can’t watch a film like “Born on the Fourth of July” and not come out impressed by his craft.
Before “Digger,” his most recent non-IP performance was in Doug Liman’s entertaining drug-smuggling saga “American Made,” released in 2017. Cruise was absolute aces in that movie, using charisma, charm and humour to incarnate Barry Seal, a TWA pilot recruited by the CIA to provide reconnaissance in Central America. It bombed at the box office, and led to Cruise doing more IP. Hopefully, the same thing doesn’t happen post-“Digger.”
He should have gotten an Oscar nomination for “Collateral,” a brilliant change of pace for Cruise as the hitman Vincent, suave and menacing, a magnetic performance. Or how about his comedic genius turn in “Tropic Thunder” as Les Grossman, a grotesque caricature of a Hollywood studio exec? Buried under a bald cap and hairy forearms, Cruise is wildly unhinged and almost unrecognizable in that movie.
He also should have WON for the best performance of his career, in Paul Thomas Anderson’s “Magnolia” (who actually remembers Michael Caine in “Cider House Rules”?) As Frank T.J. Mackey, the slick, sermonizing self-help guru and male chauvinist, Cruise scored the most important cinematic triumph of his career, and it was a supporting role. Exhibiting a mélange of uptight and ADD-like cocksure confidence, this was the chance for Cruise to finally be liberated artistically and not think at all about his image.
The sheer risk-taking involved in that “Magnolia” performance still feels damn-near cathartic, even 27 years after the film’s release. The actor has never taken more risks than with that performance, or at least he hadn’t until “Digger”…
I’m sorry, but whether you loved or hated the film, Cruise’s performance in “Digger” will be remembered.
Look, “Digger” is a divisive beast, but you can’t deny the commitment Cruise brings to this role, which is one of the biggest swings he’s ever taken, and he succeeds in inhabiting this character. His European Parliament monologue, mostly done in one unbroken take, is the moment that sold me. He’s a mix of showman and con artist, staying committed to the spin and telling the world the catastrophe is their fault, not his, even as the apocalypse nears.
I’d rank my personal ten best Cruise performances as follows:
“Magnolia”
“Collateral”
“Born on the Fourth of July”
“Risky Business”
“Digger”
“Tropic Thunder”
“Rain Man”
“Eyes Wide Shut”
“A Few Good Men”
“Jerry Maguire”
Tom Cruise, 64, is one of the last remaining old-school movie stars, and with “Digger” now in theatres, many outlets have been ranking his greatest performances.