It might sound like a crazed action flick or an absurdist comic romp, but Cage’s latest is something rather different. <\/p>
It\u2019s a tale as old as time: a man has his most cherished possession brutally and unjustly taken from him and will stop at nothing to get it back. Countless films over the years have followed this basic premise \u2013 some to good effect, some not so much \u2013 but it\u2019s hard to recall one that has taken quite the same approach as Pig, the debut feature from director \u200b\u200bMichael Sarnoski.<\/span><\/p>\n The new film \u2013 which arrives in UK cinemas on Friday 20th August \u2013 sees Nicolas Cage star as Robin Feld, a bedraggled recluse living in an almost fairytale-like cottage in the Oregon wilderness, whose quiet existence is upended when his treasured truffle pig is stolen by mystery assailants.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Desperate to reclaim the prized animal, Robin makes a rare trip back to Portland \u2013 where it soon emerges he was once a celebrated chef \u2013 alongside his younger and more perky companion Amir (played by Alex Wolff), and the pair confront various members of the city\u2019s foodie scene in order to find the whereabouts of the missing hog.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n If that sounds like the plot for a crazed action flick, or perhaps an absurdist comic romp, then you should know that this is actually something altogether different: a rather sombre, sullen film that deals fairly profoundly with loss, grief and meaning.<\/span><\/p> It\u2019s easy to understand why viewers might go to the film with certain assumptions. Cage is hardly known for his acting restraint after all, and even in his most acclaimed performances \u2013 Raising Arizona, Wild at Heart, Adaptation etc \u2013 there\u2019s oftentimes a rather madcap energy at play. But the Cage on show here is far more still and considered, rarely indulging in the kind of showboating with which he\u2019s often associated, and yet still delivering a very memorable performance.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n When we first meet Robin, he\u2019s virtually wordless \u2013 treating Amir, a restaurant supplier who buys his truffles, with little patience. And when he does speak, the sound is fittingly more akin to the grunt of a pig than to expressive human speech, rarely muttering more words than is absolutely necessary. <\/span>But the bond between Robin and the pig is wonderfully portrayed in just a few short scenes in these early stages, especially in one moment in which the animal rushes to his side to comfort him as he prepares to listen to a mystery tape \u2013 the significance of which will become apparent later on.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n As the film continues the mystery behind Robin slowly unravels, and we learn more and more about the character and the circumstances that led to him abandoning city life and forming such a deep connection with the pig. The confrontation scenes that regularly punctuate the action rarely play out as you\u2019d expect them, serving as chances for the characters to have discussions about topics deeper than just the location of the missing animal.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n One of the film\u2019s undoubted highlights is a scene in which Robin eviscerates his former pasta chef, now the head honcho of a trendy restaurant called Eurydice, with a monologue about selling out that gets right to the heart of the film\u2019s message. \u201cYou wanted to open a pub,\u201d he tells him before launching into a tirade about the meaninglessness of his restaurant. \u201cNone of it is real,\u201d he says, \u201cBecause you aren\u2019t real.\u201d Unsurprisingly, the chef crumbles.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n There are several moments like this, and the more we learn about Robin the more sympathetic a character he becomes. When he reveals to Amir that he doesn\u2019t actually need the pig for her foraging ability \u2013 he can find the truffles well enough himself \u2013 but rather just because he so values the companionship she offers him, it\u2019s very hard not to be moved. \u201cI love her,\u201d he tells him \u2013 and you don\u2019t doubt the sincerity for a minute. The film\u2019s final stages are equally affecting, and when Robin \u2013 back in his cottage \u2013 listens to the aforementioned tape in the final scene, some audience members will have a hard job holding back tears.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Pig, then, is a very touching, but undoubtedly rather gloomy film, and one that certainly makes for a very rewarding watch. Just don\u2019t go in expecting some kind of high-octane revenge thriller \u2013 this is not the film that you might expect based on its plot synopsis, or Cage\u2019s back catalogue.<\/span><\/p>\n Pig is released in UK cinemas on Friday 20th August 2021. Looking for something else to watch? Check out our\u00a0TV Guide<\/a>\u00a0or visit our\u00a0Movies<\/a> hub for all the latest news and features.<\/strong><\/p>\n It might sound like a crazed action flick or an absurdist comic romp, but Cage’s latest is something rather different. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":3345,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/08\/pig-starring-nicolas-cage-isnt-the-film-you-expect-it-to-be.jpg",1200,800,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/08\/pig-starring-nicolas-cage-isnt-the-film-you-expect-it-to-be-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/08\/pig-starring-nicolas-cage-isnt-the-film-you-expect-it-to-be-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/08\/pig-starring-nicolas-cage-isnt-the-film-you-expect-it-to-be-768x512.jpg",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/08\/pig-starring-nicolas-cage-isnt-the-film-you-expect-it-to-be-1024x683.jpg",800,534,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/08\/pig-starring-nicolas-cage-isnt-the-film-you-expect-it-to-be.jpg",1200,800,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/08\/pig-starring-nicolas-cage-isnt-the-film-you-expect-it-to-be.jpg",1200,800,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"It might sound like a crazed action flick or an absurdist comic romp, but Cage's latest is something rather different.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/3344"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3345"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3344"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3344"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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