Marmite Strangelove

MARIA DUARTE applauds an audacious satire aimed at oil tycoons, ecocide and media manipulation

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FOUR-times Oscar-winning director Alejandro G Inarritu is back taking major swings, in this audacious, dark comedy satire about climate change, and capitalist greed and corruption, which is guaranteed to divide audiences. 

Set in the near future, the film follows Digger Rockwell (Tom Cruise), a cat-loving Texan oil tycoon and one of the most powerful men on the planet, whose drilling operations in Greenland causes a devastating environmental disaster. 

An ice shelf breaks free, threatening millions of lives in Europe, but Digger is only interested in saving his rigs which produce millions of barrels of oil a day. 

However, in a cynical move and with the help of the US president (John Goodman), he decides to control the narrative to become the hero and the saviour of the catastrophic mess he made, while turning a profit. 

Digger states: “They know the story. The facts are yet to be told.” 

What Inarritu (Birdman, The Revenant) does very cleverly in this surreal comedy is to highlight how powerful billionaires, oligarchs and the likes of Donald Trump have now learnt to manipulate the truth, and reality, to save themselves from answering for their horrific actions. To hell with the collateral damage and the effects on ordinary working-class people. Tom Cruise, as you have never seen him before and hidden under full prosthetics, breathes convincing life into the old, corpulent and ruthless oil baron who only cares about himself and his dying pussycat. One of the film’s producers, Cruise is clearly having a blast along with his co-stars, an impressive Riz Ahmed, Goodman, Sandra Huller and Jesse Plemons, to name a few. Clearly inspired by dark political satires like Dr Strangelove, and reminiscent of Wes Anderson’s and Yorgos Lanthimos’ work, co-writer director Inarritu has thrown everything at the screen stylistically. 

Although messy, I happily bought into it. At times it looks like you are observing a stunning painting or tableau. The cinematography and the production design are outstanding and deserve major credit. 

Just as you are getting used to the constant visual assault, there are some reveals and a final twist which will make you rethink the whole film. 

It is a refreshingly creative and imaginative satire and, thrillingly, Inarritu isn’t afraid to push the cinematic envelope.

I fear it may be Marmite, but there’s no denying that it is a bonkers ride.

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