By: Andrew Wing, Contributing Writer

Pig is a 2021 American thriller drama film co-written and directed by Michael Sarnoski in his directorial debut. It stars Nicolas Cage, Alex Wolff, and Adam Arkin. The film follows Robin “Rob” Feld (played by Cage), a former Portland-based chef turned reclusive truffle forager, who lives alone in the Oregon wilderness with his beloved truffle-finding pig. But when his pig is stolen, Rob must face his demons of the past and go on a cat-and-mouse run through Portland with the help of Amir (played by Wolff), his primary truffle customer.

Principal photography for the film began in September of 2019 in Portland, Oregon. Months later in March of 2020, film production and distribution company Neon (whose most notable films include I, Tonya, Portrait of a Lady on Fire, Palm Springs, and my favorite film of all-time, the 2019 South Korean film, Parasite. Pig had a theatrical release in the United States on July 16, 2021, and the film has received widespread acclaim from critics since its release.

THE GOOD

The career of actor Nicolas Cage is a truly fascinating one. Cage’s first film role was a minor one and it came in the 1982 coming-of-age comedy-drama film Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Years later he starred in the Coen brothers 1987 classic Raising Arizona, and following the success of that he really took off in the 90s with hits such as Leaving Las Vegas (1995), The Rock (1996), and Face/Off (1997). However, the 21st century for Cage wasn’t as friendly until as of late as he had his fair share of stinkers with The Wicker Man (2006), Bangkok Dangerous (2008), Knowing (2009), Season of the Witch (2011), Stolen (2012), and Left Behind (2014) just to name a few. Despite going through that rough patch, Cage has slowly been working his way back up to the top of the industry since 2017 with successful films like Mom and Dad (2017), Mandy (2018), Color Out of Space (2019), and Pig is truly in my opinion a PSA to all movie-lovers like myself that Cage is BACK!

There is no debating that this is one of Cage’s best performances of his illustrious career and it just might be his best. It really is a revelation. In every scene of this movie, Cage showcases his brilliance as an actor with an affectingly raw performance. You would never think that a movie dealing with one’s love for companionship with their pet pig would hit you in the feels, but it really does and I don’t think that happens without Cage. I just have so much respect for him as an actor because obviously he is as entertaining as they come, but you can tell that he just loves what he does by how he just gives his all into every performance and that is just the case with Pig. With that said, Cage has only been nominated for the Best Actor award twice, winning for his role in Leaving Las Vegas (1995), and I really hope that with his performance in Pig, that he could get that long-awaited third nomination.

Enough with me fanboying about Nicolas Cage though because there are so many other aspects that make Pig my favorite movie of the year. For starters, it is pretty impressive that this is director Michael Sarnoski’s directorial debut. I mean damn, talk about starting your career off with a bang. Let’s just say I will be eagerly awaiting to see what he follows this up with and he has quickly made a fan out of me. Also, it is pretty remarkable that at the young age of 23, Alex Wolff has already been in some pretty big movies such as Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017), Hereditary (2018), Bad Education (2019), Jumanji: The Next Level (2019), and his most recent film Old (2021), which Ted recently reviewed. I am a big fan of his as well, and he is already making a name for himself as a solid supporting actor in the industry. Lastly with this film, there were some beautiful shots of the Oregon nature throughout the film and the score does such a great job at setting each and every scene.

THE BAD

As you will soon be able to tell by my score for the film, there was nothing I found particularly bad about it.

The only thing that I will say is that the film itself is definitely very different from what we are accustomed to seeing and you could say that it is weird for sure. I mean in simplest terms, it is a movie where Nic Cage plays a truffle forager who goes on a 90-minute revenge tour when his pig is stolen. For me though, the film’s uniqueness and wholly original story is the thing I love most about Pig and a big reason why it is one of the best films of the year in my opinion.

THE VERDICT

With what just might be a career-defining performance from the legendary Nicolas Cage, Michael Sarnoski’s Pig is one of the best films of the year. It is a beautiful tale of love and loss and is one of the most captivating movies I have ever watched.

DO NOT JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS COVER. As crazy and outlandish as the film’s presence may be, Pig takes you somewhere and as time goes by you soon realize that you are fully invested in the delightful companionship that is a man and his pig.

This is absolutely not a film you want to miss, so check it out, you will not regret it. Now available for rent or purchase on video on demand.