Pig will defy your expectations. When presented with the premise that Nicholas Cage is playing a man searching for his kidnapped pig, the mind, with all the Cage baggage of the past few decades, goes immediately the place of an absurd and likely violent romp. Pig is none of that. It is a quiet, contemplative exploration of loss and connection where Cage is more the Leaving Las Vegas/City of Angels Cage than the Cage that we currently expect to fly off the handle and chew all the scenery. Pig is a lovely story filled with pain and redemption.
It is best to go into Pig with as little expectation as possible and just experience it as it unfolds. I wills ay this reminds you just how strong an actor Cage is. He delivers a sensitive and complicated performance that is both moving and funny. And the film gives up and comer Alex Wolff one of his best opportunities to break beyond his Jumanji stereotyping.
I will warn you that the films relies of a number of coincidences which may be a bit of stretch. Setting the film is a city like Portland and within a very specific community may help make those coincidences feel a bit more acceptable. But even if not, the film's story is powerful enough to make those irrelevant. The story rings true even with some logical leaps.
Pig is a delightful surprise, unlike much else you'll see out there, and an exciting debut of a new film maker right out of the gate.
Pig
Starring: Nicholas Cage, Alex Wolff, Adam Arkin
Writer/Director: Michael Sarnoski
No comments:
Post a Comment