Denzel Washington’s “Triumphant and Provocative” Thriller Is Now Streaming for Free

Based on the material we've seen so far, John Goodman could be a dark horse in the Best Supporting Actor race at next year's Oscars for his performance in Digger. The satirical dark comedy is being marketed as an Oscar vehicle for Tom Cruise, but given its impressive pedigree, it will likely be a favorite in several categories. Goodman has delivered some of the most memorable supporting performances of the last four decades, in films such as The Big Lebowski, Argo, and, lest it be forgotten, Speed Racer. However, his work in an otherwise acclaimed movie from 2012 was largely overlooked. The movie in question made headlines for other (valid) reasons, and is currently streaming for free in the United States.

It marked the return to live-action filmmaking for Robert Zemeckis, who'd spent more than a decade tinkering with performance capture technology on movies such as The Polar Express, Beowulf, and A Christmas Carol. His 2012 film was among the last of an era: a character-driven dramatic thriller aimed at grown-up audiences. You could almost imagine something like it being distributed by A24 in today's landscape, especially after the former indie-focused outfit has announced greater ambitions. The movie was headlined by Denzel Washington, who earned an Oscar nomination for his central performance as an alcoholic pilot who successfully lands a malfunctioning airplane and is immediately investigated for possible misconduct. Goodman plays the protagonist's drug dealer.