Nicolas Cage deserves all the Michelin stars in melancholy "Pig"

Pig (2021)

Preconceived notions about what kind of movie “Pig” will be are slowly dashed, and for the better. While the concept of “Pig” seems like another crazy (Nicolas) Cage-palooza after “Mom and Dad,” “Mandy,” “Color Out of Space,” and “Willy’s Wonderland,” this is not just some slowed-down, self-serious riff on “John Wick” that substitutes a kidnapped pig for a murdered dog. Cage barely even raises his voice. In stark contrast from that action-packed revenge picture, “Pig” is more of a melancholy and contemplative arthouse road drama. As a deconstructed study of loss, it’s a simple story but reverberating with soul and a thoughtful aftertaste. 

As far as his most recent genre work goes, Nicolas Cage gives one of his more understated, internally anguished, and haunting performances. He stars as Robin “Rob” Feld, a once-renowned chef who now lives in the Oregon woods as a hermit with his truffle pig. The only human connection is with Amir (Alex Wolff), a city slicker who drives every Thursday to pick up the truffles and even offers Rob a shower. One night, Rob is beaten to a bloody pulp (and will remain this way until the final scene like a badge of honor) and knocked unconscious by two drug addicts, who burst into his cabin and steal his precious pig. When Amir comes by for his weekly drop-off, he agrees to be Rob’s driver into Portland to get back his pig, the one thing that has made life worth living. 

Dividing the film into chapters like a three-course menu, writer-director Michael Sarnoski is deliberately piecemeal in revealing Rob’s identity and previous life as a culinary master. Rob’s isolation from society is his own form of grieving, the only way he knows, and that pig is the only thing in this Godforsaken world that he has left. When Rob first goes into town by himself, everything has changed; we realize how long it’s been when a diner waitress he asks for has been dead for a decade. When Rob and Amir soon venture into Portland and sit down at an upscale restaurant (Rob still bloodied and looking in need of medical attention), they end up speaking with the chef (David Knell), one of Rob’s former employees. By the end of this scene—one of the funniest, tensest, and most lacerating in the film—Rob hits the nail on the head: “We don’t get a lot of things to care about in this life.”

It’s a fact that Nicolas Cage always commits, even if the project he’s committing to is schlock. “Pig,” though, is far from schlock (it’s beautifully shot by Patrick Scola), and Cage should no longer be underestimated; he’s subtle when he needs to be and capable of conveying pain and longing without always speaking his feelings. Alex Wolff is also immensely fine as Amir, an insecure young man in rich clothing and a flashy yellow sports car who tries keeping up with the competition of his father, Darius (Adam Arkin, more complex than the rich, arrogant businessman he suggests). The impression Rob has made on Amir (and even Darius) becomes fully clear when Amir recalls how the dinner Chef served him and his parents became the last memory of happiness as a family. The film doesn’t conclude with a violent, vengeance-fueled bare-knuckle showdown, but rather a quiet and mournful meal, closing beautifully with Bruce Springsteen’s “I’m on Fire.” Until it feels earned, “Pig” initially feels like morose sluggishness posing as profundity. Once Michael Sarnoski's thematic aims click, the journey becomes heartbreaking, unexpected (an underground fight club for the restaurant industry, what?), and ultimately rewarding. Be prepared to have your expectations Julienned and your heart moved.

Grade: B

NEON is releasing “Pig” (92 min.) in theaters on July 16, 2021.