Coot. This is the story of a coot. Not sure how best you describe a geezer who shares an isolated one-room forest cabin with his pet Pig, but “coot” will do. And just in case you couldn’t get that impression from the setting and the makeup, wardrobe has multiple scenes of Nicolas Cage in longjohns. All that’s missing is a butt-flap. What year is this? I couldn’t begin to guess.
Rob (Cage) is a truffle hunter. Rob is the kind of guy who wears blood in his beard and thinks nothing of it. He lives alone in the woods (if you don’t count the Pig) and takes his truffle-hunting sow for a walk every day in search of underground treasure. The pig is so good at this activity that Rob can actually “earn a living,” although it’s difficult to see what he needs money for anyway. He lives in a cabin in the woods. The cabin doesn’t have heat, electricity, or running water. At that rate, all you need is food, which Rob gladly exchanges truffles for.
The middle man is Amir (Alex Wolff), a guy who clearly decided “Miami Vice” displayed the ultimate form of success, for this is the look he has chosen to share with the world. He knows not who Rob is (or was), nor does he care. All he knows is Rob finds him exquisite truffles which make his journey to the Oregon outback worth his time.
And who is Rob? And how did he get to the stage of life where his daily accessories include longjohns and a pet pig? It looks suspiciously like we’re going to find out when vandals break in a steal the Pig. And now Rob has but one goal in life: get the Pig back.
This is exactly the kind of film I love: one with a simple goal, but hidden depths. In a way, the Pig is no more than a standard MacGuffin. To get to the Pig, we have to unravel the mystery of Rob, and that’s going to take us
through the swap meet truffle exchange, several truck-stop diners, and the Portland underground gastronomic fight club. I can say no more. If that doesn’t do it for you, I don’t know what will.
The Nicolas Cage who has spent his career on the brink of barely-contained fury did not show up, for which I was overjoyed. This is a rare understated and very human performance by Cage who I daresay actually got lost in the role; for minutes at a time, I felt like I was watching Rob, the wronged truffle-hunting coot, and not Nicolas Cage being Nicolas Cage. I’m stuck between, “I enjoyed Pig” and “I loved Pig.” I suppose I’m being deliberately cruel because of the film making me view bloodbeard and longjohns a dozen times too often, but I could argue that these are the exact reasons why I should love Pig all the more. This is an intelligent and strangely satisfying film; if Nicolas Cage only finds this kind of role once every dozen scripts, his post-fame will still be worth it.
His acting talent was always easy to define
Whisper-to-rage is this performer’s punchline
The title is fitting
For a guy who ain’t quitting
Nic Cage has aged like a fine swine
Rated R, 92 Minutes
Director: Michael Sarnoski
Writer: Vanessa Block, Michael Sornoski
Genre: Cootlove
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: People who have been waiting years to see Nicolas Cage make a film worth seeing
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: Megalomaniacs
