PIG
A surprisingly calm turn from Nic Cage anchors this affecting drama of one man and his truffle pig.
Rob (Nicolas Cage) is a truffle hunter in a Oregonian forested area. Rob is reclusive, and in fact only keeps his truffle pig as company. His only visitor is Amir (Alex Wolff), a young truffle dealer who is trying to make a name for himself in the industry and break out of his father, Darius’ (Adam Arkin) shadow. Things go wrong however when Rob is attacked in his hut one night, and his pig is stolen. Enlisting the help of Amir, he heads into the city on the trail of his lost pig. In the process, this former famed and lauded chef has to confront the grief of his past, and the grief of those around him.
Directed by Michael Sarnoski, who was also part of the writing team, PIG is a really beautiful surprise of a film. A lot of the DNA of this, particularly the trailer, has a sort of lower budget John Wick feel to it - you’d be forgiven for thinking this is a revenge thriller, with a pig the loss rather than a dog or a wife. But that isn’t what this film is at all. While Rob searches for his lost pig, and there is a brief spurt of violence when the pig is taken, for the most part this is a beautiful, entrancing and introspective film.
Cage turns in a truly phenomenal performance. He is weary, emotional, kind, engaging and angry, all at once. Physically, his costuming is dirty, ragged and blood covered, but his movements are so slow and deliberate, and his emotionality so placid and thoughtful, that the whole performance feels off-kilter, transformative and engaging. He’s matched by a somewhat manic, self-conscious performance from Wolff as a young man so insecure in himself, and with such a desperate need to prove himself. The fact that almost every character here is dealing with grief in some way, shape or form - whether it’s the death of a loved one, the long hospitalisation of a parent, the loss of a pig or the fading of a dream - gives the film, and the acting talent, a lot to work with from an emotional landscape perspective, and it turns the narrative of this film into something more important and ethereal.
Visually, the film is stunningly shot. The cinematography, on such a low budget, is a triumph, and creates mystical worlds out of dense forests and underground hotels alike. It’s a dark film, but the mood never overtakes the story.
In the end, PIG is a triumph not in spite of the disparate and challenging elements that embody it’s make up, but because of it. This film probably wouldn’t work as well if it wasn’t made with such a low budget, and if it didn’t have Nicolas Cage in it, and all the preconceptions that his presence forms in viewers before they watch the film. Nevertheless, Sarnoski has created a truly enjoyable and uplifting piece, that deserves to be seen by the widest possible audience.
