Pig (2021)

Pig (2021)

 3/10

 

Starring

Nicolas Cage

Alex Wolff

Adam Arkin

 

Directed by Michael Sarnoski

 

I appreciate a good drama, but this isn’t one.

I have been lied to. I watched this movie with the belief that there was either going to be action or a nice thriller about how things would turn out when Nicolas Cage's character (Rob) goes in search of his pig. What I ended up getting is a self-involved movie where the writer thinks everyone watching is in his head and doesn’t need to develop or explain things. When you finally figure things out, you ask yourself, "What was that punch meant to stand for?" It really had no place in the movie, except to make the character look more revolting than he already was.

The whole "I lost my reason to live, so now I live in the woods all alone and refuse to take a shower or even make myself look presentable" is overplayed.

The movie doesn’t make you pity or feel remorse for the lead character. Instead, you're more worried that the man he’s with, Amir (his unwilling co-partner), will catch something from this unhygienic character. The movie keeps your hopes up, making you believe something is going to happen. “Just watch,” it says. My people, nothing eventually happens. He accepts his fate, and everyone moves on with their lives.

The plot introduces us to Rob, a reclusive truffle hunter who lives in the woods with his pig. We also meet Amir, who comes to buy truffles from Rob. One night, Rob gets robbed by some junkies who take his pig and sell it. Rob happens to see the car they were driving, so he calls Amir to help him get his pig back. The whole movie is about their hunt for the pig, which then takes us down a wormhole of regrets and past issues with Amir. We also get to know why Rob stays in the woods, away from everything and everyone.

I don’t know where you can catch this movie for viewing in your area, but I will say save yourself the pain. I hear critics say this movie has Cage delivering one of his best performances. Well, I can agree that it is a good performance, but that’s just it.

The movie is the directorial debut of Michael Sarnoski, who also wrote the screenplay and story. I hope he does a better job with his next outing as a writer and director. The only thing I can give this movie credit for is its steadfastness. Rob stays dirty and repulsive from start to finish. I was wondering why this man thought that a good shower and a clean-up meant he had betrayed something or someone.