‘Pig’ Review

Stars: Nicolas Cage, Alex Wolff, Adam Arkin, Cassandra Violet, Gretchen Corbett, Darius Pierce, Kevin Michael Moore, Davis King | Written by Michael Sarnoski, Vanessa Block | Directed by Michael Sarnoski

Nicolas Cage has well and truly become one of those bankable stars once again. Don’t get me wrong though I don’t mean bankable as in he can bring in the box office dollars, I simply mean that you can always bank on going into a Nicolas Cage movie with little to no clue what kind of performance he is about to put in or even what the hell type of flick your about to watch. I mean seriously, the last three Cage movies I have watched saw him go from being a master Jiu Jitsu alien fighting badass; to a janitor; to a pig-owning chef. Nobody checks boxes quite like our man Nic Cage!

All of a sudden though people kept raving about the man’s performance in Pig. Some say that it’s a career high no less. I did love Willy’s Wonderland though and did think we were seeing a return to form so of course when I start seeing people say these things I am certain this is a movie I am going to have to watch. What the bloody hell is Pig though..? Well…

In Pig Nicolas Cage plays an expert truffle hunter who spends his days following his prize truffle pig (this is a thing apparently, google it, I did). He is completely cut off from the world in the Oregon wilderness. Till one night he is attacked and his pig is pig-napped, reluctantly Cage is pulled back into the big city life of Portland in search of his beloved pig as the life he left behind begins to seep back in.

I can absolutely see why people are falling in love with this performance but I’m putting this right on front street for you… and yes this is just my opinion so chill… while I really did enjoy the performance from Nicolas Cage, it is massively enhanced by a debut feature director with an incredible eye. Michael Sarnoski has written a wonderfully ambiguous story and directed it to perfection. His DOP, Patrick Scola, uses every inch or the frame to perfectly capture the beauty of the woods, the dark dankness of the underground and the bustle of the city. This is a wonderful partnership and when you throw the unpredictability of a somewhat subtle Cage well how can you not strike gold?.

Co-Star Alex Wolff is doing a lot of the heavy lifting as Cage plays this one pretty low key and honestly he deserves your time here, putting in a very respectable performance from everyone’s favourite leading man. I was a fan of the cast all round, nobody is doing anything really wrong. It’s just that I was hugely distracted by how incredibly well the underlying story intrigued me to want more of that… Actually you know what let’s talk about that.

From moment one we are made to feel there is this somewhat nefarious throughline as Cage looks to be a supplier to the city boys. As we move forward we begin to realise this is not anything to do with the drug game as I initially thought. We are introduced on the down low that there is a society of world class chefs that treat their craft like some sort of underground fight club and Nicolas Cage is an absolute legend in his field. I loved this, it was mad shenanigans but I was so deeply involved with these concepts that I started to craft a universe in my head as I watched. Sarnoski and his co-writer Vanessa Block wrote a bloody majestic piece that showcased the top level talent of this man.

Soooo yes, I am a fan of Pig. It’s a nice and easy quick watch with a lot to keep you invested and a solid as hell leading performance that does continue this man’s run of form and keeps me excited to see what the man has up his sleeve for the next one. Which I will of course check out as soon as it drops like the mug I am!

**** 4/5