Pig (2021)

[StatisticalOutlier]

I'm not going to link to the trailer because I saw this movie only on the basis of the snippets that Metacritic pulled from critics' reviews, and think it was a wise move.  I very much enjoyed surprises in the plot that are revealed in the trailer that I just watched.  All I gathered was that there was a pig that was maybe kidnapped.

I loved this movie.  The only problem I had was I can't stand violence, and there's a fight club-type scene that I had to close my eyes for, but I can see how it could be necessary to the plot, to have Nicolas Cage all beat up looking as he goes around.  If you have a similar aversion, you'll know when it's coming and you'll know how long to keep your eyes closed.  The rest of the movie is beautiful and gentle.

Often, when a movie I really enjoy ends I wish I could spend more time with the people on the screen, but that's not the case with this one.  They can all scatter to wherever they go, and I'm happy just sharing their lives for the 90 minutes.

[AimingforYoko]

I'm very curious about the restaurant underground in Portland. Is it just in Portland or does every city have one?

[StatisticalOutlier]

19 hours ago, AimingforYoko said:

I'm very curious about the restaurant underground in Portland. Is it just in Portland or does every city have one?

Or does Portland really have it?  I know restaurant workers can be an odd group, but this was really odd.  Even one place doing it seems crazy, but I don't even pretend to understand fight clubs.  Might there be fight clubs for other occupations and I just don't know it?

[AimingforYoko]

15 minutes ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

Or does Portland really have it?  I know restaurant workers can be an odd group, but this was really odd.  Even one place doing it seems crazy, but I don't even pretend to understand fight clubs.  Might there be fight clubs for other occupations and I just don't know it?

I meant in the world of the film. I know restaurant workers are odd by trade because of the hours and such, but I don't think they're that odd.

[Browncoat]

I didn't see the point of the fight club.  Possibly because I don't really understand how it works, and why the guy kept beating and kicking Robin after he was clearly down.

The pig was really pretty, though.

On the whole, I preferred "The Truffle Hunters" -- even though it had no real plot, just the general lives of a few truffle hunters in Italy.

[pancake bacon]

5 hours ago, Browncoat said:

I didn't see the point of the fight club.

It's possible it's a plot indulgence, for Robin (Nicolas Cage's character) as a super dramatic method to get the info on the pig from the food truck guy, who also runs the fight club.

But Pig is not a very plot-driven film… The pig's disappearance is really a framework for the film's themes: what is real, and worth caring about?

The food truck guy already declared that Robin's name used to mean something, and that at present, he has no value, he doesn't even exist anymore. He even asks Amir if he knows Rob's real name. 

Once Robin gets to the fight club, the first thing he does, in huge writing, is spell out his full name, and that he is willing to get into the ring to prove he still exists. Only then did the food truck guy acknowledged Robin's presence. 

Minor spoiler:

Spoiler

There's a meal late in the film that breaks down a character's guardedness, because it unlocks a very powerful memory. Memory isn't a tangible thing, but recollection of it pointed to something that still exists for that character. And this happens for another character at the very conclusion, too. Letting go helps him accept the memories being held back. 

The film is only 90 mins long, which seems harder to do in current cinema, but Pig develops its themes organically through character quite efficiently, but not hurriedly. 

I've been a fan of Nicolas Cage since Valley Girl (though Nic loves to test his loyal fans. Are you daring me to quit you, Nic? 😆) and love it when he's in the mood to use this gear in his arsenal. Alex Wolff is also brilliant in his role of Amir, the aide-de-camp to Robin's search for his pig. He's going to have a long and great career; he's a wonderfully balanced performer, and a magnetic presence on screen. After Hereditary, and now Pig, first-time directors should consider Alex a lucky charm! 

[Browncoat]

 

38 minutes ago, pancake bacon said:

But Pig is not a very plot-driven film… The pig's disappearance is really a framework for the film's themes: what is real, and worth caring about?

The food truck guy already declared that Robin's name used to mean something, and that at present, he has no value, he doesn't even exist anymore. He even asks Amir if he knows Rob's real name. 

I get all that.  I'm just not sure the fight club was necessary.  Clearly everyone at the fight club remembered him -- even put down big bucks for the bets.  And the head chef at the fancy deconstructed scallop restaurant certainly remembered him -- even recognized him under all that hair.  I suppose it was a confidence-builder?  Robin believed no one remembered him and he had to prove it to himself?  

I do suspect that a lot of people in the theater where I saw it were disappointed that it wasn't a typical Nic Cage action film!

[StatisticalOutlier]

3 hours ago, Browncoat said:

I get all that.  I'm just not sure the fight club was necessary.  Clearly everyone at the fight club remembered him -- even put down big bucks for the bets.  And the head chef at the fancy deconstructed scallop restaurant certainly remembered him -- even recognized him under all that hair. 

But I'm pretty sure it wasn't until the conversation had been going on for a bit and Amir said something like "Tell him who you are." 

[pancake bacon]

4 hours ago, Browncoat said:

 I'm just not sure the fight club was necessary.

I didn't think it was necessary to make the movie work either, but the director was going for something, I guess. The director really, really wanted to go with his theme is a very physical way – as in hit-to-the-body physical way? Perhaps it wasn't about the fight club members remembering Robin in the 'actual' sense, but to indicate Robin was 'real.' The fight club sequence is a bit self-important, and the movie can carry on without it… who really knows in the end! I just tried to make it understandable for myself! 

And I'm glad the movie wasn't a Nic Cage action film! 😃

 

 

[Hanahope]

The only thing I didn’t get was who Amir’s father was, why was he so powerful?  And did he really steal the pig just to stop his son from selling truffles?  
 

[Scout Finch]

On 7/22/2021 at 9:49 AM, StatisticalOutlier said:

Or does Portland really have it?  I know restaurant workers can be an odd group, but this was really odd.  Even one place doing it seems crazy, but I don't even pretend to understand fight clubs.  Might there be fight clubs for other occupations and I just don't know it?

Portlander for 30 years and I've never heard of any such thing.