You’d think the guy was searching for his lost horcrux. Voldemort here dug it and dug it and dug it like he was a character on “Laugh-In.” Man, you need to know a fair amount of cinema/television history to get that joke, huh? Meh. You get what you pay for.
In 1939, a “self-taught” archaeologist named Basil Brown (Ralph Fiennes) visited the Pretty estate in rural Whogivesacrap, England. With Mr. Pretty deceased, single mother Edith (Carey Mulligan) had become a weed farmer. And for lawd knows what reason, she one day decided to dig up the giant burial mounds in her back yard on the off chance that Jesus Christ Superstar toured her continent in the 1st Century.
Most films skew young. Watch any “teen” film and you’ll see what I mean. There’s a TV show out now called “PEN15” which is set in middle school, but one of the heroines has clearly entered middle age. Well maybe it’s a different kind of “middle” school, did you think of that? Hmmmm. Anyhoo, The Dig skews old. Ralph Fiennes –who is middle aged- looks like he’s constantly in need of a rocking chair and a pipe. A crucial moment in the film happens when he cannot escape sideways falling dirt. OK, I can almost see that. I mean, Fiennes, like Liam Neeson, has always been older even when he was young. But Carey Mulligan should be playing romcoms, not spinsters. She looks older than me in this film. I’m not sure I’ll ever again be able to take her seriously as a romantic lead.
I digress. The Dig is about archaeology, not age. And the kind of archaeology in which there are no Nazi deaths – which is a damn shame given that this thing takes place in 1939 Britain.
Basically, Old Man Voldemort comes in, spouts some arcane wisdom, and digs up 
dirt until he finds something. The action is so gol dern fascinating that the film brings in Lily James for Act II so something can happen. Cuz, you know, when you’re talking about significant historical finds, who isn’t picturing Lily James having an affair to spite her gay husband? The Dig is one of those tribute films to previously unrecognized historical figures, which is great if the story is worth telling. I’m happy to give Basil his Brownie points, but I cannot tell you this tale was worth the effort.
I didn’t dig The Dig. I found the film both boring and more than a little pretentious. I’m all for history and discovery, but pretending there’s two hours of plot here is, dare I say, making a mountain out of a mole hill.
From the rarities among England’s memoirs
Comes a tale of archaeological czars
The treasures are fine, see
You want to impress me?
Unearth more than two stars
Rated PG-13, 112 Minutes
Director: Simon Stone
Writer: Moira Buffini
Genre: Real life archaeology
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: The estate of Edith Pretty, British historians
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: People who have come to understand –for better or worse- that Indiana Jones is what archaeology is all about
