{"id":23282,"date":"2021-08-04T10:57:06","date_gmt":"2021-08-04T17:57:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/?p=23282"},"modified":"2021-08-04T10:57:06","modified_gmt":"2021-08-04T17:57:06","slug":"pig-benefits-from-an-excellent-lead-performance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/?p=23282","title":{"rendered":"PIG Benefits from an Excellent Lead Performance"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/24_0008_B-merged.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-9454\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>This film is currently playing at cinemas and is\navailable to rent or own on digital streaming sites this week.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Nicolas Cage has had a long career filled with critical and\ncommercial hits, as well as an Academy Award for his work in \u201cLeaving Las\nVegas\u201d. Unfortunately, for the last decade or so the star\u2019s dramatic chops\nhaven\u2019t been utilized to their fullest. With the exception of the 2013 independent\nfilm \u201cJoe\u201d, the performer has often been forced to prop up less-than-stellar\nmaterial with some exaggerated mannerisms. The new film \u201cPig\u201d is a small,\nlow-key drama that actually allows the actor to shine once again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/PIG-05-fixed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-23284\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rob (Cage) is a recluse living in the Oregon wilderness with\nhis truffle-hunting pet pig, eking out a very modest existence by selling his\nfinds to Amir (Alex Wolff). He barely speaks to the young entrepreneur, who\npasses along the fungi on to high-end restaurants. One evening, Rob\u2019s home is\ninvaded by robbers. He is knocked unconscious and his porcine friend is stolen\nfrom him. Furious, the antisocial protagonist leaves his shack and gets a hold\nof Amir. Rob demands his contact take him to downtown Portland so that he can\ndetermine who stole his pig and retrieve his animal. Over the course of several\nbrusque interactions with surprised chefs and restaurant owners, we learn that\nthe lead has a long history in the city\u2019s culinary community. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With a plot involving a stolen pig, one might expect an\naction picture with Cage giving various foes a beatdown as he completes his\ntask. However, that is not at all what the movie is about. There is very little\naction and it is the hero who takes the brunt of physical punishment. In fact, Rob\nspends most of the running time wandering around bruised and bloodied. It soon becomes\nclear that this is actually a drama about personal loss and grieving and that the\nlead\u2019s anti-social personality is a recent development over the past decade. He\nis a broken man suffering from psychological wounds and hasn\u2019t come to terms\nwith tragic events from his past. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/PIG-03-fixed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-23285\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Obviously, there\u2019s a lot of turmoil going on within the central character and Cage uses the opportunity to his advantage. He barely speaks early on in the film, focusing on pointed stares and gestures used to get his anger and frustration across. Some of these long looks are intentionally amusing. There\u2019s a great scene when Rob shows up at a high-end restaurant and glares at the chef in an intimidating manner. It is funny at first, but the scene progresses in an unexpected direction as the two discuss their lives and the choices that have led them to their current situation. And as Rob ultimately speaks and opens up with Amir and others, it allows the character to finally address his own pain, culminating in an impressive display late in the film.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This is an independent feature with interpretive elements made\non a small budget. As such, it does require some suspension of disbelief and includes\na few awkward moments. A scene set under an establishment involving something\nakin to a \u201cfight club\u201d does strain credibility and feels like a dramatic\nstretch. And while one could argue that Rob\u2019s damaged visage serves a\nmetaphorical purpose in the film, many would expect more strangers to be actively\ngetting involved with the protagonist and calling for assistance and\/or\nauthorities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/PIG-02-fixed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-23286\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This is a very unique arthouse movie and one can see how it\ncould have easily come across as preposterous. Thankfully, Cage\u2019s work sells\nthe entire concept and his character is compelling. The actor is exemplary and the\npart seems perfectly suited to his skill set. If you\u2019re looking for an\naction-filled revenge picture, this is not going to be up your alley. But \u201cPig\u201d\ndoes serve as an effective and introspective drama about loss that features an\nexcellent lead performance. It\u2019s a memorable role for Nicolas Cage that will\nhopefully result in the star being given meatier dramatic roles in the future. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This film is currently playing at cinemas and is available to rent or own on digital streaming sites this week. Nicolas Cage has had a long career filled with critical and commercial hits, as well as an Academy Award for his work in \u201cLeaving Las Vegas\u201d. Unfortunately, for the last decade or so the star\u2019s [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":23283,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[206,985,1851,4180,6251,9892,11671,14829,15478,16090,16091,16093,16094,16276,16905,23326],"class_list":["post-23282","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-movie-reviews","tag-206","tag-alex-wolff","tag-arthouse","tag-chef","tag-drama","tag-introspective","tag-kidnapping","tag-nicolas-cage","tag-oregon","tag-pig","tag-pig-film-review","tag-pig-movie-review","tag-pig-review","tag-portland","tag-restaurant","tag-truffles"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23282","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=23282"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23282\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=23282"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=23282"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=23282"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}