Pig (2021)

'Pig' is a film in which Nicolas Cage's prized truffle sniffing pig is abducted, and he will stop at nothing to get said pig back. So right away your probably thinking this is basically 'John Wick', but it's not. This isn't some stylized action, revenge caper, but rather it's a reflective indie. 

The back story for Cage's Robin "Rob" Feld is parsed out gradually. When we first meet him he is a heavily bereded hermit living out in the Oregon woods with only his pig for company. Once a week Amir (Alex Wolff) comes over to collect the truffles which he supplies to high end Portland restaurants, but the two's relationship is strictly business, until the pig is abducted. 

Having no other options, his own car long un-operational, Robin hikes to the closest place with a phone, a road side restaurant, and calls for Amir. A reluctant Amir agrees to take him to a nearby hippie camp where they learned that the abductors sold the pig to someone from the city. So Amir takes Robin to the city and we plunge into the unexpectedly dark underworld of foodies and the competitive gourmet restaurant business. 

You see Robin was of that world once, celebrated in it, a local chief still spoken of in reverence 15 years after starting a self imposed exile following the death of his wife. Robin returns to his old haunts and visits the few people still around who really knew him. Amir gains increasingly respect for Robin and we slowly learn his back story, which is also a sad one. 

One of the things that makes Robin such an interesting character is that he is a man of few words, but every time he speaks it is to say something to the point, or emotionally penetrating. This movies premise seems like parody on the surface, and certainly Cage comes with baggage, but he manages to give one of the most quietly affective  performances of his career. In fact 'Pig' currently has a 97% rating on Rotten Tomato's, making it the single best reviewed movie of Nic Cage's career. Which says a lot. I highly recommend. ****