Dig

I have a lot of respect for actors who does not do too many similar roles. They dare to take chances and try on different characters in different genres. I understand if you love a specific genre and do certain films there, because you enjoy doing them. But to do something different takes courage, and you have to be able to capture the audience as well. One actor who proved that he could go outside of his comfort zone, is the actor known as Thomas Jane. Most of you might remember him from the 2004 film adaptation of The Punisher ( definetely worth checking out ), but i really think he proved his acting abilities in the TV series known as Hung. If you by any chance have not seen this TV series, you should check it out on HBO Max. Hung tells the story of high-school basketball teacher Ray Drecker ( Thomas Jane ), father of two teenagers. When a fire destroy their childhood home that Ray still owns, Ray have no insurance to cover the damage from the fire. He has to find a way to make more money. With the help of his friend Tanya Skagle ( Jane Adams ), they come up with the idea that he should become a male prostitute. He already have a big penis so it should not be a problem, and Tanya will be his pimp. Sleeping around with clients may sound simple at first, but everything may not go as easy as it may seem. I personally enjoyed all 3 seasons of Hung, and i think Thomas Jane is really good as the lead character of Ray Drecker. This TV series is not only entertaining but also show that if you make certain choices in life, you might have to be prepared to take a few strikes. Also that this TV series brings up the subject of male prostitues, something you don´t see everyday. Thomas Jane have done a lot of films as well over the years, and i have honestly not seen all of them. I did enjoy him in the 2020 action thriller Run Hide Fight from director Kyle Rankin, another film worth picking up. I have been curious to watch a thriller that he released in autumn last year called Dig, since i saw the poster of the film. I decided to pick up the film on Blu Ray to give it a chance. Is this a thriller that deserves to be seen, or shoud Dig be buried deep underneath the ground?

Family father Scott Brennan ( Thomas Jane ) watch his wife get shot at a gas station, together with his daughter Jane Brennan ( Harlow Jane ), while his daughter get a hearing damage for being so close to the gun. This horrible tragedy causes a lot of damage in the relationship between Scott and Jane, while she is struggling with her hearing disability. Scott begin to plan if he should take his daughter on a weekend trip, but one day a man shows up at his business known as Victor ( Emilie Hirsch ), who is willing pay really good for a demolition of a house, out in the desert. Since this job will help them economically, Scott agree to do the job and let his daughter help out. What they don´t know is that Victor has not really told why they are doing this job, until they find out the truth.

The easiest way to explain Dig is to say that it reminds me of thrillers of the 90´s. You have the ordinary working class here, where a sudden tragedy changes the lives for a family. I actually appreciate the simple storyline in a film like this, because you don´t need to make things complicated to make the story interesting. The location of this film takes place mostly out in the desert, and considering that these workers are out there to dig, it definetely feels like the right environment.  One detail that really sticks out is the fact that the daughter Jane ( played well by young actress Harlow Jane ) looses her hearing almost completely. Imagine being 16 years old and not being able to hear again as other teenagers, of course it will affect her mentally and physically. Harlow manage to play this character realistic and i also feel that she tries to portrait a girl her age suffering not only from the death of her mother, but with her own inner demons. Thomas Jane as the lead character Scott may not be very different in this film from other characters we have seen him done before, but i enjoy his performance, simply because he have a certain screen presence playing a family father. Emile Hirsch ( who most of you most likely remember from the excellent Sean Penn film Into The Wild ) plays the crazy criminal called Victor. It may not be one of his better acting performances in his career, but definetely a big step in the right direction since Pursuit. Actress Liana Liberato ( who was brilliant in the 2010 film Trust, a must see ) is actually quite fun to watch here as criminal Lola. She does not seem to have any empathy at all, and cares more about herself than anything else. I enjoy the soundtrack in this film, the songs fit in very well with the desert atmopshere. Any problems with Dig? If you don´t want to watch a thriller that have been done many times before, you might loose interest in this film. There is nothing different with this film than other desert thrillers, except for daughter Jane struggling with her hearing damage. And i actually think that this is the part that makes Dig a bit more interesting which helps the film stand out a little bit, in a genre that needs different ideas. Director K. Asher Levin have definetely been inspired by 90´s Texas thrillers while making this film, or at least you can sense that while you are watching Dig. It is very simple, doesn´t have a lot of surprises, but as a thriller i would say it works for the most part. If you are interested in this genre for a popcorn night, i think this could be a good choice. Dig knows what kind of audience it was made for, and that´s good enough for me. 

Rating: DDD