Review by Jessica Carr
People can spend their whole lives searching for a reason to exist. Are we all really just meat puppets floating in space on a big blue marble, or is there something more? The first ever feature by director Michael Sarnoski tries to answer this question by showing how people can connect to small things and how those connections can give that person a purpose.
The film stars Nicolas Cage as Rob, a former (and formerly famous) chef who lives a peaceful existence in the woods outside of Portland with his beloved truffle pig. The two hunt truffles together, eat together, and sleep right beside each other. Rob's world is thrown into disarray when someone steals his precious pig.
The rest of the movie follows Rob and his truffle buyer/distributor (Alex Wolff) as they work to uncover who is behind the pig heist. As the movie starts to reveal its layers, you realize it isn't quite what you thought it might be. Although many are comparing it to the animal-centric revenge thriller John Wick, Pig is doing something entirely different. Sure, there are probably some similar elements, but Pig is certainly not an action movie. Instead, the movie wants to focus on the reasons why Rob is so invested in getting his pig back.
The movie's tagline is, "We don't get a lot of things to really care about." We can tell that Rob is a worn down man. He has had some bad shit happen to him and now he is just trying to survive. The film reveals that Rob used to be a well known chef in the high class culinary world in Portland. For reasons revealed later, his heart wasn't in it anymore and he retreated into the woods. After his pig is stolen, he is forced back into the culinary underground in order to face his demons and get his pig back.
Nicolas Cage does a brilliant job of playing a man that appears to be always boiling under the surface. He plays the dead pan wilderness mountain man pretty well. A feat that leaves the viewer wondering when is this teapot going to boil over? The tension builds and builds and takes us to a place I don't think people were expecting. Alex Wolff also does a good job in his role as a rich young man with daddy issues. But really, Cage steals the show.
The food scenes in Pig were not like any I'd seen in a movie before. A lot of the dishes reminded of the classic French cooking shown in Babette’s Feast, but without the same indulgence factor. The lighting is dark and has a damp feel throughout (perfect for Portland I imagine), and when we see Rob cooking food in Pig, all the shots of him cooking are out of focus. The camera never zooms in on the cooking or gives the viewer a chance to indulge in what is happening – the opposite of food porn. We see the dishes in their completed forms – handmade mushroom tart, roasted chicken, and potatoes au gratin – but we are never allowed to really take in the food. Through this cinematic choice, I think Sarnoski is showing us that food does not have the same meaning for Rob anymore.
There are small things in life that can help us feel connected to the ones we love. For example, I love food because it is one of the many ways my mom communicated her love for me. Think of a song that reminds you of the person you love. It's just a song, and yet, it can evoke so much emotion in you. On its own, food is something we need to live. And yet, something as simple as a truffle can make someone's life extremely complicated. A simple meal at an elegant restaurant can hold so much meaning for the two people that shared it.
One of the main themes in the film is how to cope with grief. What do we do when the person connecting us to the things we love is gone? How do we keep the connections to those things in tact? I don't think the movie really answers these questions or has a solution. It just shows the ways in which people can be tethered to each other. The climax of the film is absolutely heartbreaking. It nearly took my breath away with how sad it was, but it also reminded me of all the ones I love and how truly beautiful the small things that connect us can be. Wow! I did not think I was going to get this emotional while watching a pig movie starring Nicolas Cage. I I guess I’ll place Pig next to First Cow on the the list of farmhouse animal movies that made me cry. Pig is quiet, reserved, and contemplative – seeking to find meaning in the small things in life.