Pig

I was suggested this movie by a friend, and I put it on my watchlist, sight unseen. I didn’t read the movie description, I just slapped it on there. When I finally read the description — a truffle hunter’s pig is kidnapped and he has to chase it down and face demons from his past — I’m expecting carnage. I’m expecting hobo John Wick, but less stylized and more gritty and grindhouse. Imagine my surprise when it turns out to be this weird (I know, Nic Cage movie being weird, shock), but often touching, sentimental movie. I don’t want to spoil anything about it. It’s best to go in as blind as possible. Just know that it will never do what you think it will, but it always does what it should do, if that makes sense. The story is weird, but not Willy’s Wonderland weird. Just … odd. It fits that it takes place in Portland. There’s a real emotional journey to this movie, both from Nic Cage and his co-star Alex Wolff, as they go on a reluctant hunt for Cage’s porcine companion, but it’s about so much more than the pig. Finding something that means something to you and holding onto it, fighting for it, embracing purpose … that’s what Pig is all about. It just so happens to also be about a man looking for his pig. I was not a Nic Cage fan in his prime. I found him histrionic at best and overbearing at worst. But after his time in the hinterlands, he has come out on the other side a confident, nuanced actor. I am really not kidding when I say Pig may be his finest acting ever. Vulnerable yet strong, compassionate yet unrelenting, haunted yet determined, it is a memorable performance in an unforgettable movie.