Pig

With Nicholas Cage in the lead, we are thrown into the forest he's living in with his precious pet - an adorable orange-hued pig. Said pig has, for reasons unknown, a unique ability to detect the presence of truffles. We see the pair go on their successful hunt before selling the yield to a wealthy, status-caring dealer from city named Amir (Alex Wolff). With a simple setup for who this hermit is and what he does for a living, we are quickly launched into the Inciting Incident where his only companion in the woods; the pig is forcefully, violently stolen from him. What happens after that forms the crux.

From the very first frame, you know you are in the hands of an extremely capable director. Debutant Michael Sarnoski, just like the protagonist, shows that he is a simple man with very few words. The colors, sound design and lighting are natural! Coupled with the way the title text and credit appear along the calm and steady cinematography, the picture drips with beauty!

Nicholas Cage's character is introduced to us as a man who's living in solidarity, free of modern amenities, deep in the wilderness. The only words he ever utter are to his pet, otherwise he doesn't talk at all. However, in the brief setup you witness him in, he has a special knack for cooking. The way he cooks is picturized like a culinary show, indicating this will play an important role later on, which it definitely does.

Obviously, the plot dictates that the protagonist has to venture into the city to find his pig. Through this journey, we find out, bit by bit, who this man is and what sort of a dark past did he come out from. He gets a name. Robin Feld. The city recognizes him, some with admiration, others with fear. A ghost from ten years ago. Before we know it, the film quickly becomes about the world of fine dining and beneath that neat and posh façade, the floorboard is rotten and there's an underworld in parallel operation symbolically unveiled by the protagonist as he opens the entrance to an underground fight club filled with mostly frustrated restaurant workers.

Robin Feld is pummeled down by a sous chef whom, judging from the intensity of his punches, seems to have a history with him. And this sample right here is the strongest point of the script - the writer-director allows you to piece these information chunks together. Most of what happened in Robin's life before is still shrouded in mystery as we are not told all about it, which is fantastic! We do not know if it is his house he visited. Could that boy he speaks to about persimmon his grandkid or simply a new habitant? But we discover enough to know what transpired and transformed this once renowned and revered chef to his current sad, heartbreaking state. Robin's left the industry and his old life after his wife passed away, possibly due to the shady side of this world and his guilt that stems from his involvement in it too. In what's probably the best sequence in the motion picture; a fascinating conversation between Robin and his former assistant-turned-glory Chef Finway (pre-requisited by a hilarious "I want to talk to your manager" request), we discover how nihilistic the main character has become, giving up totally on pandering to society and meaningless success.

Once the characters learn that it is Amir's dad who took the pig, things get personal. In the beginning, Amir is just a distance. From his accounts, we know he cares a lot about his reputation as it means the world to him in his line of culinary business, and he has a severe issue with his dad who seems to be a pretty prominent figure in the same industry. But he warms up to Robin as we do gradually, especially after seeing how far Robin would put his neck out for sacrifice just to get the pig back. In such circumstance, Amir narrates a story to Robin about the most special and happiest meal his parents have ever had, but the 'large-sized' chef has disappeared into thin air one day. This takes place early on and it's our first, rather obvious hint to the chef in the story being Robin Feld. The 'knack for cooking' shot in the intro comes to mind.

Amir who mentions his mother has died, visits her hidden self in a care facility where she's in comatose. Robin after facing harsh rejection by Amir's father Darius (Adam Arkin) to return the pig, decides to gather ingredients in order achieve his goal. You may wonder how is cooking a meal gonna bring back the beloved pet, but that's the most heartfelt aspect out of the many beautiful aspects of this story. Robin cooks the meal that made Amir's parents the happiest once upon a time, which leads to Darius confessing that the pig has died during the abduction.

While the protagonist may seem to have failed his plot goal, we learn from him that the pig is actually not needed at all for truffle hunting. The pig was with him as a companion; a reminder of his dead spouse. He couldn't come to terms with the immense pain, which is why he chose to isolate himself. Away from the world. Away from the pain. Which he gladly makes peace with at the end after the pig dies. The Total Mastery after Lesson Learnt may seem less satisfying, but from the sounds we hear during the end credits, it seems Robin has truly made peace and now lives with many pigs that are just fun companions, not any past symbolization.

You could say reputation is the primary theme. Also, everyone and everything in the script is thematically connected by food. Chapters bookended by menu dishes doesn't mean much to regular viewers but it maybe is different to anyone who knows more about the art of culinary.