Pig (2021) Review (Written by Alex Humber)

A truffle hunters must face his past as he goes on a search for his beloved pig that was stolen from him.

Pig (2021) stars Nicholas Cage as Rob, a truffle hunter. He is a lonesome man who cares for his oinking companion. Secluded in the woods and soon moving to the city, it gives off medieval era vibes while also being modern. The inconsistency of tones could be easily played as a flaw, but comes off quirky in this movie, which helps the audience immerse into Nic Cages characters situation.

Nic Cage has had troubles in the past with his movies. Especially the more recent ones. His movies have been generally trashy and not well made. Pig, while not perfect, is a huge step up from his bad movies of recent years. His performance here is more subtle and semi less crazy (emphasis on the “semi”) than his more recent work. The broken down, messy lumberjack role almost feels tailor made for him.

Pig was very well made, the director behind the camera took care in what they were making. Each shot felt planned and careful. Nothing in the movie felt rushed… rather very slow. This can be a fault as the pacing of the movie is quite slow and does not provide much action or thrills. It’s more of a character piece as there is mystery surrounding our lead that is slowly unfolded. A high point is the cinematography for the opening act as the shots of the woods and overall atmosphere was quite stunning and eerie, which works with the undecided tone of the film.

The performances in the movie were serviceable. No one did horrible, but there were not many standouts outside of Nic Cage. Alex Wolff provides some of the comic relief and while it works to some degree, his character can feel more as a plot device rather than an actual character at points.

The film does borrow from other thrillers of the past. The premise and situations are semi similar to John Wick (2014). So if you are able to see past the similarities, it won’t stick out as an issue. In fact, a perfect analogy is that; Pig (2021) is a much slower John Wick (2014).

Pig (2021), is an enjoyable film that shows the better side of Nicolas Cage’s acting. While the pacing may be slow and dull, the performances and care but behind the film make it worth the watch.

Pig gets 3.4/5!

Thanks for taking the time to read! Hold on Hope.