Movies Mayberry Movie Club Week 28: Pig (2021)

[revoltub]

Interesting, that might explain why it felt incomplete to me in the second half. It felt like they were setting up a lot of pieces in the first half and some of them just didn't really fit in by the end. Would love to see the full cut because i think this movie had the potential to be truly great and fell just short.

I would like to see a full cut aswell because, while it felt complete to me as a story, it didnt feel fully realized. Interested to see if those among the scenes taken out flesh it out more.

 

[Cubo de Sangre]

Yeah I loved that part and the use of food as a weapon. I thought it build up the lore around Cage's character and his legendary chef status nicely so that when Arkin eats it I could really believe it impacted him emotionally.

It's like the chef equivelant of the gunslinger or martial arts master who finally decides to show what all the fuss is about.

I also found the scene where he called out the Euridice chef on not following his dream to be powerful. Great job of acting on that guy's part. And of course Cage had established dominance by having fired him for fucking up something as simple as pasta.

 

[Cubo de Sangre]

I would like to see a full cut aswell because, while it felt complete to me as a story, it didnt feel fully realized. Interested to see if those among the scenes taken out flesh it out more.

Maybe we'd see flashbacks with Laurie.

 

[revoltub]

I also found the scene where he called out the Euridice chef on not following his dream to be powerful. Great job of acting on that guy's part. And of course Cage had established dominance by having fired him for fucking up something as simple as pasta.

Lol yeah he wanted to make an English pub. I loved how over the top the dish was with the Douglas fur smoke and how Cage is so disgusted with it and how fake and soulless it all is. And he knows what hes talking about which makes his criticism that much more brutal.

I guess the Baker scene was to show a different path of someone more true to themselves.

 

[revoltub]

Maybe we'd see flashbacks with Laurie.

Yeah I'd guess we'd see flashbacks of her and him before he became a hermit. I'm also guessing more scenes between Arkin and Wolff and probably more of the pig.

 

[Tufts]

Watched it again and I like it about the same as the first time or slightly more.

What the film was going for just worked for me overall. I think its a good answer and contrast to the john wick/nobody style of revenge films in that it takes a completely different approach and is mostly non violent in nature. I especially appreciated the little bait and switch the film does at the end of part one where it teases you into thinking that it's going to be an action/fighting movie.

For me its really about dealing with loss. Cage and Arkin are counterparts dealing with a similar loss in their lives but dealing with that in very different ways. Cage going off the grid and becoming apathetic and Arkin becoming a cold and brutal businessman who has become distant and shrewd toward his own son.

I thought the aspect of Cage's character being a legendary figure worked well especially within his friendship with Alex Wolff, who is starting to lose who he is by succumbing to the yuppie persona he is trying to fit into. I liked the idea of Cage being very "been there done that" and how as Wolff learns more about the wisdom he provides starts to question the type of man he will become. I thought the friendship/mentorship aspect between them was the best part of the movie.

I think the pig in of itself

Spoiler

was more a stand in for Cage's wife. When he finally accepts that she is dead, he can finally accept that his wife is dead, and finally play the tape. Compare that to Arkin, who cannot pull the plug on his wife and will probably never fully recover until he lets her go. Thought it was beautiful writing work.

If I have any problem with the movie its that I dont think it fully realizes it's dramatic potential. I was also bothered by the fact that

Spoiler

if the pig is dead, why did Arkin offer to buy him out the first time? Couldn't he have just told him it was dead right away and save himself the trouble of cage sniffing around?

Also thought there was 1 or 2 scenes just thrown In there just to get to a 90 minute runtime.

Overall though I thought its definitely a well made movie thats not too long, has a great Cage performance and a good emotional impact. Just dont expect Cage Wick.

I agree with spoiler number 1 wholeheartedly. I think that maybe Arkin offered the money out of guilt....

No need to indicate spoiler. If you haven't watched the flick, you should not be on this thread.

If you are doing it for dramatic effect, no worries

 

[Tufts]

The pig got fridged!

Had I known, I would have enjoyed that sweet beebs' grunts even more at the start. Cute little baby.

I liked this film. I need to marinate on it a little more. It was original, beautifully acted, beautifully shot. I enjoyed the sparse dialogue and the emotive performances. I usually get a little cranky about movies with no women, but in this case, it was the absence of the women in the lives of the men that gave the movie heart, the characters' motivation, and made the plot lines move forward. The two ladies who appeared were important to Cage. Both from his past. One who was a baker.... loved the line where she said she was a baker, and one housed his Laurie's remains and his fine wine. I appreciated how Cage used these contacts to show Arkin that his son was worthy. Loved the idea of food and memory. Food and experience. Food and joy. Loved the sparcity of the backstory and the totally wacky nature of the underground Chef scenes. Quirky and original. Just sad there was no more pig

 

[Cubo de Sangre]

I appreciated how Cage used these contacts to show Arkin that his son was worthy.

It showed some real character when Cage credited Wolff with "finding" the wine.

It's not explained how those two hooked up to begin with. Not that it would add anything, but it's an odd pairing.

 

[Cubo de Sangre]

Gotta admit I didn't see it coming that dad was the pig buyer. In retrospect it seems so obvious.

 

[MusterX]

I didn't look up anything or really know much about this film going into it and at first I really felt like this is going to be what happens when John Wick moves to the woods and gets a pig. It seemed pretty obvious someone was going to get that pig, it is called Pig after all. I was a little bewildered as it progressed though because of the patience level of Robin Feld, played by Nicolas Cage. I really expected Robin to go ham at any moment but it never happened and that's when I began to realize that this film was presenting a much deeper message than a simple revenge film.

The film is, I want to say perfectly broken into three acts, not just in practice but its actually labeled that way and announces its act changes. When robin goes back to the city, looking like a homeless person, we don't really know who he is but soon people begin to recognize him and seem to have a sort of reverence for him. It almost seems as if everyone that recognizes him wants him to come back to do whatever it, or become, what he once was but Robin Feld is a changed man. He's suffered loss, I think in the form of his wife dying, and it seems to have driven him out of his former life as a master chef and underground fight club member.

Feld's trip to the city while looking for his pig reminds him not only of what he lost, when he goes to his former house and sees the kid living there where he once lived, presumably with his wife, but also in the intense scene in the restaurant where he encounters a former student of his, Chef Finway, that he fired after only two months. Robin proceeds to break Finway down about once having a dream of opening an English Pub but Finway tells him there is no money in it. One of the big messages in the film is revealed in this scene because Robin basically tells him that he sold out his dream in the name of profits, and that its not worth it because there's only so many things in life we get to actually care about. Its a huge reason why Robin Feld left and is not coming back to resume his old life as a top chef.

In the end, I really believed that Robin would get his pig back and return to the forest and when he found out she died on that first night she was taken, I was pretty upset about that. I even felt at the end maybe we would get a scene with Robin with a new pig but the film doesn't give us that. What we get instead is a cold harsh dose of reality where Robin returns to the forest alone, his pigs empty bed still sitting next to his, and he takes off his boots and lays down on the bed. No happy endings, no uplifting message. Just life on life's terms.

8.2/10

 

[revoltub]

I didn't look up anything or really know much about this film going into it and at first I really felt like this is going to be what happens when John Wick moves to the woods and gets a pig. It seemed pretty obvious someone was going to get that pig, it is called Pig after all. I was a little bewildered as it progressed though because of the patience level of Robin Feld, played by Nicolas Cage. I really expected Robin to go ham at any moment but it never happened and that's when I began to realize that this film was presenting a much deeper message than a simple revenge film.

The film is, I want to say perfectly broken into three acts, not just in practice but its actually labeled that way and announces its act changes. When robin goes back to the city, looking like a homeless person, we don't really know who he is but soon people begin to recognize him and seem to have a sort of reverence for him. It almost seems as if everyone that recognizes him wants him to come back to do whatever it, or become, what he once was but Robin Feld is a changed man. He's suffered loss, I think in the form of his wife dying, and it seems to have driven him out of his former life as a master chef and underground fight club member.

Feld's trip to the city while looking for his pig reminds him not only of what he lost, when he goes to his former house and sees the kid living there where he once lived, presumably with his wife, but also in the intense scene in the restaurant where he encounters a former student of his, Chef Finway, that he fired after only two months. Robin proceeds to break Finway down about once having a dream of opening an English Pub but Finway tells him there is no money in it. One of the big messages in the film is revealed in this scene because Robin basically tells him that he sold out his dream in the name of profits, and that its not worth it because there's only so many things in life we get to actually care about. Its a huge reason why Robin Feld left and is not coming back to resume his old life as a top chef.

In the end, I really believed that Robin would get his pig back and return to the forest and when he found out she died on that first night she was taken, I was pretty upset about that. I even felt at the end maybe we would get a scene with Robin with a new pig but the film doesn't give us that. What we get instead is a cold harsh dose of reality where Robin returns to the forest alone, his pigs empty bed still sitting next to his, and he takes off his boots and lays down on the bed. No happy endings, no uplifting message. Just life on life's terms.

8.2/10

I thought the relationship between cage and wolff was the silver lining of the ending. Like you know the pig is dead but at least you know he has a homie to chill with now.

 

[MusterX]

I thought the relationship between cage and wolff was the silver lining of the ending. Like you know the pig is dead but at least you know he has a homie to chill with now.

Yea, Robin said, "I'll see you on Thursday" when they left the cafe at the end and Amir seemed kinda shocked at first but was like, "Yea...yea, see you on Thursday." Robin had told him earlier in the film that he could find the truffles without the pig because of indicators in the trees, still, I really wanted to see him at least get another pig. Also, at the end he puts on the cassette tape of what I guess was his wife singing to him. Earlier in the film he was only able to listen to it for a second before he took the tape out and put the boom box up on the shelf but at the end he presses play and goes over to the bed to take off his boots while it plays.

It really felt like some sort of catharsis was occurring between Robin and Amir. The trip back to his old life in the city, reminding him why he left to begin with, his new relationship with Amir, and maybe remembering what is important in life and what isn't. Maybe at the end we get some sort of idea that Robin and Amir are going to do something together with food. I'm not saying Robin was going back to the city but it seemed like he was going through a long past due recovery from the loss of a wife.

 

[revoltub]

Yea, Robin said, "I'll see you on Thursday" when they left the cafe at the end and Amir seemed kinda shocked at first but was like, "Yea...yea, see you on Thursday." Robin had told him earlier in the film that he could find the truffles without the pig because of indicators in the trees, still, I really wanted to see him at least get another pig. Also, at the end he puts on the cassette tape of what I guess was his wife singing to him. Earlier in the film he was only able to listen to it for a second before he took the tape out and put the boom box up on the shelf but at the end he presses play and goes over to the bed to take off his boots while it plays.

It really felt like some sort of catharsis was occurring between Robin and Amir. The trip back to his old life in the city, reminding him why he left to begin with, his new relationship with Amir, and maybe remembering what is important in life and what isn't. Maybe at the end we get some sort of idea that Robin and Amir are going to do something together with food. I'm not saying Robin was going back to the city but it seemed like he was going through a long past due recovery from the loss of a wife.

I think a lot of it is Cage's reintroduction to a human friendship. In the one scene wolff says " I've been here the whole time" or something like that.

So not to bring up John Wick again but in that movie the idea is you killed my dog so you're all gonna die (I get that it had connections to his wife).

But in this movie the message seems to be yeah the pig was a great companion and it sucks but people are more important.

 

[Tufts]

This movie has haunted me a little. I love the slow pace of it. I enjoyed the focus on loss, and then renewal, in terms of relationships. We have Robin and Amir developing not only a father-son relationship but a mentor-apprentice relationship. Not of cooking, but of life. Both main characters have experienced tremendous loss. Amir's mom's attempted suicide left her insensate, a fate worse than death probably for her, and for her son. I was struck by how Amir could not go into her room. How he wished that his father would simply let her die. It sounded that except for the one night when Rob's food brought them together, their relationship was distant and sad. Amir's father not only robbed Amir of a father but also stole any chance of peace in reconciling with his mother's suicide attempt. No rest for Amir, if his father can help it. Meanwhile, Rob lost his wife too early. I respect that we do not how. In the end, it doesn't matter, what matters is her absence. Whereas what matters with Amir, is his mothers' continuous absent presence. Amir goes from having an absentee father to a father figure in Rob. Pig got Rob through the loss of his wife. By facing up to his past, revisiting his old haunts, Rob is finally able to let her go. It is a symbol of his strength that he does not feel inclined to get another pig. He has the skillz. Amir will fill his need for company.

I also enjoyed how Rob went from being a completely silent character at the start of the movie to being extremely verbose at the end.

 

[MusterX]

This movie has haunted me a little. I love the slow pace of it. I enjoyed the focus on loss, and then renewal, in terms of relationships. We have Robin and Amir developing not only a father-son relationship but a mentor-apprentice relationship. Not of cooking, but of life. Both main characters have experienced tremendous loss. Amir's mom's attempted suicide left her insensate, a fate worse than death probably for her, and for her son. I was struck by how Amir could not go into her room. How he wished that his father would simply let her die. It sounded that except for the one night when Rob's food brought them together, their relationship was distant and sad. Amir's father not only robbed Amir of a father but also stole any chance of peace in reconciling with his mother's suicide attempt. No rest for Amir, if his father can help it. Meanwhile, Rob lost his wife too early. I respect that we do not how. In the end, it doesn't matter, what matters is her absence. Whereas what matters with Amir, is his mothers' continuous absent presence. Amir goes from having an absentee father to a father figure in Rob. Pig got Rob through the loss of his wife. By facing up to his past, revisiting his old haunts, Rob is finally able to let her go. It is a symbol of his strength that he does not feel inclined to get another pig. He has the skillz. Amir will fill his need for company.

I also enjoyed how Rob went from being a completely silent character at the start of the movie to being extremely verbose at the end.

It haunted me a little as well, although maybe for different reasons. The food aspect of the film is not something I can completely grasp but there is a message there, I think, about how important food is, and also how people interact when they dine together. Eating is something we generally do in groups but Robin had abandoned that for the solitude of the forest after his wife died. Throughout the film we still see he has the love of food, he's still collecting truffles to make food, and he needs up cooking dinner for Amir and his dad. The Acts were also labeled as food, such as salty baguette.

The reason the film haunted me is because it comes down to my own relationship with food. Some people are affected this way with music, you hear a certain song, it reminds you of a certain thing. I'm that way with food because of how important meals were in my family growing up. There are still certain things I can't eat without being reminded of my grandmother who passed many years ago. I don't know exactly what the food connection is in this film but there is a message there and it just may be that eating is a common communal thing we do together.

 

[Cubo de Sangre]

Eating is something we generally do in groups but Robin had abandoned that for the solitude of the forest after his wife died.

Him and the pig, who it appeared got fed pretty damn well.

 

[sickc0d3r]

I can’t talk about a Cage flick without first commenting on Cage, the phenomenon. He’s one of a kind, possibly the most amazing creature in Hollywood. Just a magnificent mixture of melodramatic, maudlin, and magnetism. Even Eric Roberts is like “that’s how it’s done, people”. I once said Sylvester Stallone’s face has morphed into a circus artist’s caricature of his younger self. Well, Cage’s career is the acting equivalent of Sly’s face.

That out of the way, I liked Pig quite a lot. I think from the beginning I knew instinctively that the truffle skills were Robin’s and the pig was really just his friend. Maybe it was the way Robin sniffed and ate the dirt… anyway, I found the story charming (albeit a little nonsensical at times) and I was pleasantly surprised by Nick’s performance. He’s capable of playing almost anything on screen, I think, and he proved it here.

I also appreciate movies that treat food and wine with healthy reverence. All the scenes in Pig, food related or otherwise, were extremely tactile and atmospheric. You could taste and smell the food, and the dirt and blood (and presumably shit) all over Robin. I don’t think I’d want him preparing my food in the state he was in.

I was a little amused by the juxtaposition between the tone and the actual plot, which could easily have been married to something more like an over the top comedy than a drama. I mean, an underground fight club for restaurant employees, where they get to beat up well known chef’s for a minute? Probably very cathartic for them, as having worked in the industry for years I can tell you chef’s are often real dicks to the staff.
And Robin breaking down the successful chef who was once his souse chef (for two months, fired because he kept overcooking the pasta). That guy… whew, talk about overacting. He must have spent a lot of time in Cage’s trailer going over lines.
But, somehow, it all worked. Quirky is a great word for this one, and in a good way. I’ll give it 3.5/5.

 

[MusterX]

I also appreciate movies that treat food and wine with healthy reverence. All the scenes in Pig, food related or otherwise, were extremely tactile and atmospheric. You could taste and smell the food, and the dirt and blood (and presumably shit) all over Robin. I don’t think I’d want him preparing my food in the state he was in.

I think they were sort of poking fun at the food industry, particularly the high end food industry. There was a bit of reverence there and the film makes clear that there is a love of food happening, but it also has the underground fight club, because as you say, chefs are often dick heads, but then there is also that conversation in the restaurant where Robin tells chef Finway, "Why do you care? These people don't know you, they don't want to know you, and they don't care about you." I think Robin is basically telling him, don't take yourself so seriously, these people don't give a shit about you. That statement is juxtaposed later in the film when Robin tells Amir's dad, "I remember every meal I ever cooked. I remember ever person I ever served." I don't quite understand how these two statements relate to one another but I know they do.

 

[sickc0d3r]

I think they were sort of poking fun at the food industry, particularly the high end food industry. There was a bit of reverence there and the film makes clear that there is a love of food happening, but it also has the underground fight club, because as you say, chefs are often dick heads, but then there is also that conversation in the restaurant where Robin tells chef Finway, "Why do you care? These people don't know you, they don't want to know you, and they don't care about you." I think Robin is basically telling him, don't take yourself so seriously, these people don't give a shit about you. That statement is juxtaposed later in the film when Robin tells Amir's dad, "I remember every meal I ever cooked. I remember ever person I ever served." I don't quite understand how these two statements relate to one another but I know they do.

Absolutely they do. He also tells the story of a 2 hundred year earthquake that will swallow up Portland (again) very soon. Aside from his apparent photographic memory and superhuman understanding of people, these bits of dialogue all play into a theme of living for what is important to you right now, I think. It's a touching film in that way.

 

[Sirwastealot]

The pig got fridged!

Had I known, I would have enjoyed that sweet beebs' grunts even more at the start. Cute little baby.

I liked this film. I need to marinate on it a little more. It was original, beautifully acted, beautifully shot. I enjoyed the sparse dialogue and the emotive performances. I usually get a little cranky about movies with no women, but in this case, it was the absence of the women in the lives of the men that gave the movie heart, the characters' motivation, and made the plot lines move forward. The two ladies who appeared were important to Cage. Both from his past. One who was a baker.... loved the line where she said she was a baker, and one housed his Laurie's remains and his fine wine. I appreciated how Cage used these contacts to show Arkin that his son was worthy. Loved the idea of food and memory. Food and experience. Food and joy. Loved the sparcity of the backstory and the totally wacky nature of the underground Chef scenes. Quirky and original. Just sad there was no more pig

It's pretty amazing how much i started liking the pig just from that first little scene. Adorable little chonker.

I was sort of looking forward to seeing the pig again all movie.