‘Pig’ Movie Review: Nicolas Cage Shines in Somber Indie Tale
What is else is there to say about Nicolas Cage? He’s won an Academy Award, been in some major blockbusters and starred in some of the worst movies imaginable. Despite the uneven career, Cage is always making interesting choices. It seems like every few years, we’re graced with a truly remarkable performance from the actor.
Just in 2019, we were given Mandy, which was an iconic Cage performance for the ages. Instead of taking that success and working on better projects, he fell back into doing mostly crap. Jiu Jitsu and Willy’s Wonderland aren’t exactly high art. While Mandy was a brilliant performance, it’s been a very long time since we’ve seen Cage in a more subdued role. That was until this year’s Pig was released.
The film is about Rob (Cage), who lives in the forest of Oregon and hunts truffles with his beloved pig. One night, a couple of junkies break into his little house and steal his pig. Instead of the film going full John Wick, the movie turns into something else. On the surface, Pig is about Rob trying to retrieve his stolen pig. However, there’s a lot more going on that I can’t really touch on without going into spoilers.
Director-writer Michael Sarnoski creates a very interesting world that feels so unique. Not a ton actually happens in the movie but Cage’s subtle performance is absolutely brilliant and one of the best you’ll see this year. It’s such a different performance than you’d expect to see him in these days but it’s also perfect casting. It’s hard to envision anybody else in the role. I did have some issues with how the story unfolds towards the end but this movie isn’t about the plot. This is a character study on Rob and how trauma can cut down a brilliant mind in its prime. Pig has been getting excellent reviews but it will likely get ignored come awards time. That’s a shame as Cage deserves recognition for one of his best performances to date.
We also need to give a brief shoutout to Alex Wolff, who is very strong opposite Cage as Amir.
