Diggers (2006)

Diggers. Directed by Katherine Dieckmann. Written by Ken Marino. Country of Production: United States of America. Key Cast: Paul Rudd (Hunt), Ken Marino (Lozo), Maura Tierney (Gina).


If you haven't heard of Diggers, don't feel bad. I haven't either. It's an HDNet film that had only a brief theatrical release. It was written by and co-stars Ken Marino, who is best known for his television work--usually in comedy. Diggers revolves around four friends who live on Long Island in 1976. They are clam diggers who are being slowly but surely pushed out of the clam game by big clam corporations. Hunt (Paul Rudd) and Gina's (Maura Tierney) father has recently died, and a series of events soon ensue that changes everyone's lives forever.

This is a decent movie. The cinematography is interesting without being overbearing, and seems to have a photographic quality. By that I mean the shots tend to be constructed with a certain obvious care. It is interesting to note that the photographs used in the film--meant to be taken by Paul Rudd's character--were in fact taken by Katherine Dieckmann, the director.

I also enjoyed the editing style, which was in retrospect disjointed yet not at all confusing. Each scene seemed almost completely isolated from the one before, with no apparent cause and effect to mention. On the other hand, the movie flowed with an overall logic that was unmistakable, and despite not having a clear sense of time, I never found myself at a loss.

The real draw of the movie, though, is Ken Marino's performance. He is simultaneously funny and interesting as Lozo, the alcoholic and verbally abusive, yet ultimately loving husband and father of four. Though Hunt is meant to be the central character, Paul Rudd's performance comes across as simply decent in comparison with Ken Marino's quietly gripping role. It may come down to Marino's ability to make this at best half-way-decent character seem so damn likeable.

In all, though, the movie itself does not quite make the leap out of limited release obscurity. Despite a solid cast, an appealing look, and an interesting structure, I can't do much more than like this film. If you get a chance, see it. If not, I doubt you'll be the worse for it.