Nicolas Cage is no stranger to bizarre roles and movies with plots battier than a belfry. On the surface, his upcoming film Pig appears no different. The movie casts Cage as Rob, a truffle-hunting chef who mostly keeps to himself in his cosy cabin in the Oregon woods. One day he wakes to find his foraging pig stolen and it's time to kick some ass.
Or is it?
On the surface, Pig sounds like a) an amusing opportunity for Cage to go utterly off the rails and chew the scenery and b) a mash between John Wick and Babe. Director Michael Sarnoski seems to be going for an altogether gentler approach. Having carved a life for himself in the wilderness, Cage's chef adopts a simple way of living that's interrupted by the hog theft, forcing him back to Portland where his past awaits him.
"I remember every meal I ever cooked. I remember every person I ever served. You live your life for them, and they don't even see you. You don't even see yourself," he intones in the trailer. "We don't get a lot of things to really care about... Who has my pig?"
Animals in peril tend to be a tough watch for most. Even if the peril occurs off-screen. But a kidnapped chonky ginger pig? Let's just say, getting behind Cage's character isn't hard at all.
Perhaps the most exciting part of this trailer are the glimpses at a deeper, nuanced performance unlike most Cage has delivered over the last several years. Not to say he's unskilled at "playing it straight", yet his recent credits hark back to his Vampire's Kiss days in terms of going gonzo. Pig promises to showcase the dramatic acting chops which landed him an Academy Award back in 1996 for his turn in Leaving Las Vegas.
Appearing alongside Cage in Pig are Alex Wolff (Hereditary), Adam Arkin (Halloween: H20), Gretchen Corbett (Shrill), Julia Bray, Nina Belforte, Darius Pierce, and Elijah Ungvary.
Pig arrives in theaters on July 16, 2021. For all of your movie-going needs beyond the summer, keep your eyes on our list of the must-see movies of 2021.
