Much like recent Irish films such as The Lodgers (2017), The Devil's Doorway (2018), and Black '47 (2018), The Dig works very much within genre parameters, but wherein the tropes of said genre are given a uniquely Irish thematic inflection. However, still suffering from crippling guilt for a murder he can't remember, Callahan takes the unexpected decision to help Sean with the dig, much to both Roberta and Murphy's chagrin.
Obsessed to the point of near madness, Sean refuses to stop - not for his still-living daughter, Roberta (a quietly despairing Emily Taaffe), who's seriously worried about his mental health not for the local constable, Murphy (an intimidating Francis Magee), who has his own plans for Callahan and certainly not for Callahan himself. Now tee-total, he's planning to sell his dilapidated farm and move on, but is stunned to learn that Sean McKenna (a superb Lorcan Cranitch), the dead girl's father, has spent literally every day of the last 15 years digging on the bog where her body is believed buried. Callahan was blind drunk the night of the murder, and remembers nothing of the incident, but as he was the last person with whom she was seen, and as her skin was found under his fingernails, he was convicted. The film begins as Ronan Callahan (the always intense Moe Dunford) returns to his hometown, having spent 15 years in jail for the murder of his girlfriend. Still though, it's beautifully shot, brilliantly acted, and very well directed, and, assuming you're finished jumping through time with Ant-Man, you could certainly do worse than checking it out. Working extremely well for about three-quarters of its runtime, the script unfortunately comes undone in the last act, suddenly turning into a murder-mystery, complete with a ridiculous twist that belies the realistic minimalism employed thus far. It's bleak and oppressive (both in form and content), and doesn't feature a huge amount of (or any) laughs. Looking at the tendency in rural Ireland to anthropomorphise the Land, celebrating how it sustains and condemning how it betrays, the film probes the thin line between obsession and insanity, whilst also examining issues of memory, guilt, and the question of whether the guilty should be afforded an opportunity for atonement. Written by Stuart Drennan, and directed by Andy Tohill and Ryan Tohill, in their feature debut, the film is essentially a study of psychological breakdown, and the emotional damage that can be done by a self-appointed Sisyphean task which, by definition, can never be completed. And that's a real shame, as it's a fine film.
Unfortunately released the same day as a little film called Avengers: Endgame (2019), The Dig will most likely pass from Irish cinemas without much of an impact.
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