PIG
I tell you there is a movie, in which a reclusive, aging man lives alone with his pet, but his peace is disturbed by intruders who mess with said pet, so now he is so determined to find these people that he’s willing to come out of his exile and make his name known once again... What movie are you thinking of? "it's "Pig".
“Pig” is not a “John Wick” movie that subs in Nicolas Cage and his truffle pig - rather this is an anti “John Wick” movie that gives you a familiar setup only to subvert your expectations. Where “John Wick” offers vigilante justice and expertly choreographed fight sequences, “Pig” is almost a healing experience that challenges you to pause and consider what you truly care about, and how pain might have changed your worldview.
Now, if you weren’t aware that truffle hunting can be a cutthroat business with a dark side - you are not alone. The film’s writer-director Michael Sarnoski was also surprised by this discovery, and the story about a man so attached to his pig that he would be willing to go out searching for it after what is essentially a home invasion episode soon began to take shape.
But, as I mentioned, do not expect this to be a revenge story with another over-the-top performance from Nicolas Cage - “Pig” is, surprisingly, a lot more introspective than that.
In his feature film debut, Sarnoski wanted to explore the way grief and loss can shape a person’s worldview. He mentions he was particularly interested in grief’s “long-term, perception-defining aspects that weave into our lives and the bedrock of our consciousness.
How that can make us build walls around ourselves that separate us from others”. All that being said, “Pig” is not a downer - a lot of it has to do with healing and realizing what actually matters, with processing that pain and coming out on the other end.
Our main character’s quest is not about payback it’s about restoring the peace that’s been disturbed. The opening of the film is almost a meditative experience, and by the way if you’re looking for a beautifully shot film - this is the one for you.
We see a man coexisting with nature, and we feel that peace and harmony with the help of gorgeous cinematography, sound design, and camerawork - nothing about Rob’s routine is hectic or rushed... That is, of course, until we meet Amir - a young truffle seller, played by Alex Wolff, whose chaotic presence immediately clashes with Rob’s world.
Even the way this guy talks feels out of place, while Rob doesn’t utter a single word during this encounter. "You know, there's like animals and shit out here..." And then the peace is truly shattered - Rob’s home is invaded by strangers, and his pig is stolen, which leaves him no choice but to rejoin the world he left behind, and search for his lost companion.
For this task he recruits the only person he’s been in contact with - Amir, and the pairing of the two opposites is nothing short of hilarious. But of course, this is also where the young man learns some important lessons from Rob, realizing that the two have more in common than it might seem, and where we get another Oscar-worthy performance from Nicolas Cage. Seriously, the man deserves another Academy Award nomination for this one.
Nicolas Cage is a fascinating actor, and while many of us expect to be entertained by his over-the-top, extremely charismatic acting style, it’s no secret that he can also deliver powerful, emotional performances, and with “Pig” that is exactly what we get.
Throughout the film, we slowly begin to see the man behind the recluse - we piece together who Rob is, the pain and loss that haunt him, and how he got to this life he now leads.
What completely disarmed me were the moments that could only be described as quiet intensity, the scenes where Rob’s character could have used force to intimidate the people he was talking to, but instead he refused to play their game, and challenged them to drop the bullshit, to remember what caring and filling your life with meaning feels like.
It is during these scenes that I found myself tearing up, cathartic moments be damned, and they are the emotional core of the film. Nicolas Cage staring into your soul, telling you “we don't get a lot of things to really care about” is what makes “Pig” the special, subversive experience it is. And I loved it. This might sound dramatic, but it’s been a while since I had a film ground me and affect me as much as “Pig” did, and that is not at all what I expected from it.
So yeah, “Pig” is an anti John Wick film, and it is a must-watch.
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