Here's what's going on with Digger:
Western culture has conditioned audiences to view films as a frictionless commodity designed purely for comfort. When a film disrupts that comfort, a total freak-out is guaranteed.
Most mainstream films use predictable structures, clear good-vs-evil dynamics, and spoon-fed answers. Digger breaks this contract. It forces viewers to sit with discomfort and watch an unlikable protagonist.
For years, we've reviewed films based entirely on how they made us feel. We fail to judge them by what the filmmaker was actually trying to achieve.
The critics tarnished Blade Runner, Miami Vice (2006), The Village, The Counselor, and Tenet upon release. Yet time was on their side, rewriting their legacies.
Digger will be no different.