The Dig - Review

This movie is a good representation of the mythical idea of what European cinema is. Despite the film's quality, it is almost always a bit boring and way too long. In The Dig, the only pinch of drama happens around one and a half hours after the movie's beginning.

For me, what kept me going and watching the movie till the end was the curiosity about the dig itself - What was that? What wasn’t? Yet, I didn’t feel engaged with the story.

Where are the emotions?

A good story makes you care about the characters and what happens to them. You have a bit of this. I mean, you want Edith Pretty (Carey Mulligan) to survive. You’re worried about the kid - who is the most dynamic character. You’re curious about the young couple falling in love. Yet, somehow, this is not enough.

The whole movie lacks stronger emotions. The characters are very restrained. Maybe because it is a British movie, but I thought that it needed more emotion. For example, Mr. Brown (Ralph Fiennes) is way too passive. He stays very quiet while everybody tries to steal his credit. How is this possible?

Quality is in the details

A good point the movie shows is how society saw women in the late 1930s. No matter how sophisticated, intelligent, or educated they were. The world would never allow women to be the protagonists. They are always in the shadow of a man. This was fully represented with perfect subtlety.

The whole movie is rich in details. Some of them you may not even notice, but they are what give it quality - the little things that make the difference.

Quality vs. Entertainment

When you make a movie, you need to think about your goal and your target audience. I don't know exactly what that was here, but it was definitely not me.

Making something high-quality is important, but ultimately, movies are entertainment, and that's where The Dig fails.

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