Movies For Breakfast PIG Review

Nicholas Cage delivers his finest performance in years in a somber, beautiful film about a man who embarks on a mission to retrieve his best friend – a pig.

Synopsis

Living alone in the Oregon wilderness, a truffle hunter returns to Portland to find the person who stole his beloved pig.

Review
When discussing the majestic, unpredictable phenomenon that is meme-treasure, Oscar-winner Nicholas Cage, there are three Cages to be discussed: the “Cage” that delivers a committed performance in even the most horrible, forgettable straight-to-streaming films (Jiu Jitsu, Grand Isle); the “un-caged” Cage whose over-the-top performances lend much needed panache to an already absurd film, therefore transcending it into something fiercely entertaining (Face/Off, National Treasure); then there’s the truly powerful “Cage” that delivers some of the best heartfelt performances, infused with insurmountable passion and emotion (Leaving Las Vegas, Mandy). “Pig” has the third Cage and it’s his finest performance in years, maybe ever.

“Pig” begins with Rob, a man with an enigmatic culinary past who spends his time going truffle hunting in the woods with his trusty (and adorable) truffle-finding pig. Rob supplies his rare truffles to Amir (Alex Wolff, great), a young, self-absorbed up-and-comer in the culinary industry. One night, Rob is beaten down and his pig is taken from him, leaving him an angry man-of-the-woods that will stop at nothing to retrieve his best friend. Sounds like a film with a “John Wick” hook but with a Walden-like soul, right? Yes, at first. But somewhere along the first 30 minutes of this film, this would-be “Taken-meets-Babe” transforms itself from a thriller to a beautiful, somber film about loss and love.

As Rob sets out a quest with Amir to find his missing pig, layers are revealed not just of the film’s sly, subversive intent but of the character Rob himself. First-time director Michael Sarnoski unpeels these layers with precision and care. He keeps the camera focused and centered as Cage tracks every repressed, violent emotion on his character’s face from anger to sadness to contentment to emptiness. In his excellent performance, Cage switches effortlessly from displaying a deadpan manner of a laconic, exasperated man to a deflated, beaten down being who is searching for the only connection he has with the outside world of Earth. “You don’t exist anymore. You don’t exist”. These penetrating words from an old acquaintance are only the tip of the iceberg of the complex soul that lies at the heart of Rob’s character. Even more surprising in this film are the complex layers that are shown in his foil Amir. Amir initially arrives as an obnoxious but hysterical foil to Rob but later transforms into a young man that is haunted by family tragedy and family pressure. This creates a strong bond between the two characters and makes for perfect chemistry between Cage and Wolff.

Sarnoski’s film is a magic trick. It goes from tense to slightly absurd to slightly weird to all around beautiful. It keeps you engaged as long as you’re willing to ride on its strange wavelength. Rob is a character that not only has a soul bare for the world to look into, judge or throw away, he also looks into other characters’ souls and lets them know how much of an insignificance their passions are to the bigger scheme of this crazy thing called life. A key scene to note is a scene where Rob and Amir attend a restaurant of a man from Rob’s past. In this powerful and surreal scene, Cage gives a masterful turn of piercing honesty where he has a heart to heart with a head chef about what is important in life. A key line – “We don’t get a lot of things to really care about”.

One of the elements that lends credence to “Pig” being a beautiful and weird film is setting it in one of the most beautiful and weird cities of America – Portland, Oregon. The film paints Rob as a supreme recluse in a city that is an anomaly in its own country. As Cage’s brawny, disheveled shape skulks through the city of Portland for his missing companion, the massive physical and metaphysical shape of this tortured character looms large over the one-of-a-kind city. By the time “Pig” ends, the question is no longer about the whereabouts of the pig or who has him, it’s about the whereabouts of Rob. Will he be found? Can he return to the man he once was before tragedy guided him towards the woods? The answer can be searched and found if you’re willing to surf on this film’s weird, beautiful wave and the reward is an amazing, emotional cinematic experience.

Closing Thoughts
“Pig” is a perfect film. There is little to no filler in neither a minute nor second of this film. Michael Sarnoski neither wastes nay a moment nor feeling in this impressive directorial debut. Every scene is scene-chewing. Every performance is pitch-perfect. Cage’s performance is a strong contender for one of the best performances of the year, if not, the best. This film may mark a strong chapter in the current “comeback era” that is manifesting for the wildly talented Oscar winner (following behind Joe, Mandy and Color Out of Space). “Pig” is a film about love, loss and the feeling of, well…”feeling”. A cinematic experience like no other. See it.

Trailer