Pig and the Sheep: Grace Among Outliers
There’s a moment in Pig where Rob (Nicolas Cage) is crafting a pie that shares an elegant title with the next chapter of the film. In a sequence of pure bliss and quiet tranquility, Rob dusts the pie with a showering of flour that slowly descends onto the curious nose of his truffle pig. The pig gives a gentle sneeze and shake as the flour creates a visible cloud in the incoming rays of sunlight. This moment felt like grace. Not some kind of saving grace or salvation, but a moment of genuine kindness to allow this pig to share in the bliss, to be a part of the experience of making something beautiful.
As I processed the film, this moment stood out to me for some reason. At first, I assumed it was how visually striking the moment was that made it linger in my mind. However, the more I consider it, the more I’m reminded of the parable of the lost sheep.
“4 “What man among you, who has a hundred sheep and loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open field and go after the lost one until he finds it? 5 When he has found it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders, 6 and coming home, he calls his friends and neighbors together, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, because I have found my lost sheep!’ 7 I tell you, in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who don’t need repentance.” - Luke 15:4-7
As the film continues, Rob wakes up one night to a sound at the door. He is immediately met with a severe blow to the head and wakes up to find his truffle-hunting pig is missing. The scene is now set to give us the Nicolas Cage revenge flick we’re all expecting, all of the pieces have fallen into place. Yet, in his directorial debut, Michael Sarnoski makes a different choice. What follows is a film filled with common grace that feels like an echo of supernatural mercy that only God can give.
The parable of the lost sheep is one many of us are familiar with and can understand rather easily. It’s easy though to get confused when we put ourselves in the place of the lost sheep. Are we really worth saving? Is this parable simply wishful thinking on the part of those who feel like the outlier?
These thoughts bring me back to the scene of Rob baking with his truffle pig. God in all his power and majesty saw fit to allow us to be a part of the process. This is not because we’re so special or because we’re the only ones that can get the job done, but solely because God loves us enough to let David’s words ring true:
“You alone created my inner being. You knitted me together inside my mother. I will give thanks to you because I have been so amazingly and miraculously made. Your works are miraculous, and my soul is fully aware of this.” - Psalm 139:13-14
While we in and of ourselves are nothing special, God steps in and shows us our value. Even when all we can do is sit and watch God work, he sprinkles us with flour to show us His glory and grace. Though God can use anyone, he chooses each of us to play a part in his plan.
Not only does God allow us to be part of His work, but he also comes after us when we stray. Rob instantly begins the search when he realizes his pig has been taken. Along the way, he picks up another stranded person, desperately in need of someone to tell him that he matters. Amir (Alex Wolfe) is Rob’s business partner who comes once a week to pick up the high-value truffles Rob and his pig find. He’s cocky, self-absorbed, and drives a gaudy bright yellow Camaro just to make sure everyone knows it. Yet we begin to see all of this as a facade for a person who is so deeply lost that they’ll do anything to feel like they belong.
Rob and Amir’s relationship begins as silence but slowly grows into something more as Amir begins to realize who Rob really is, a legendary chef whose name has drifted into the culinary mythos of the Portland area. The same chef, it so happens, that prepared a meal for Amir’s parents when he was a child. This meal turned out to be the one moment Amir can ever remember his parents being truly happy.
We begin to see Rob as somewhat of a Christ figure as it appears each person he encounters is a life he has touched at some point or another, all preparing the table for a beautiful moment. Whether it is Rob reminding a former employee about his dream of opening a pub or giving a former family friend and colleague the permission to move on and find clarity, Rob seems to move from person to person, unintentionally freeing them from their self-inflicted bonds. The greatest moment of grace is seen in Rob’s confrontation with Amir’s father, a cutthroat high-end ingredients supplier who will stop at nothing to rule Portland’s culinary scene.
In the best scene of the year so far, Sarnoski makes a direction choice that subverts our expectations. Rather than a gore fest, revenge-filled final act, we get one of the most beautiful dinner scenes in film history. A dinner filled with so much history, trauma, and desperation that you cannot help but feel the pressing weight of the scene’s emotional impact. In a statement reminiscent of Christ’s words in the book of Luke:
6 Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. 7 Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows. -Luke 12:6-7
Rob tells Amir’s father, “I remember every meal I ever cooked and every customer I ever served.” The grace displayed at the table is palpable. A shepherd desperately looking for the sheep (or pig) he lost, responds with tenderness and grace rather than destruction.
It’s worth noting that Cage gives a career performance here. His subtlety and care to properly develop Rob’s character is evident. Many people like to poke fun at Cage for his over-the-top performances, along with the fact he’s in so many bad movies. However, I’m an active proponent of the stance that Cage has never been the problem with any of his bad films. Cage always gives it his all, which is often too much, but here he finds the perfect amount to give, and my oh my does it work.
I’ve set the table for you. Now all you have to do is go and enjoy the fine meal that is Pig.