Disco Pigs

Plot synopsis:
The film revolves around the intense relationship of the two teenage protagonists, Darren (Cillian Murphy) and Sinéad (Elaine Cassidy), nicknamed "Pig" and "Runt". Pig (Charles Bark) and Runt (Sarah Gallagher) were born at the same hospital at nearly the same time and grow up right next door to each other. This brings about a very close relationship between the two that borders on telepathic. They live in their own world and barely communicate with the world around them. However, up until their seventeenth year, their relationship remains one of friendship, albeit a very intense unhealthy one.
Eventually, however, Runt catches and reciprocates the attentions of another young man, Marky (Darren Healy), from her school just as Pig begins to notice Runt. As their seventeenth birthdays draw closer, Pig's violent nature becomes more and more obvious and his romantic intentions towards Runt become confirmed when he kisses her after a rampage at a disco. Runt, however, does not want to give Pig what he wants of her. She does not know how to reject him; therefore, she continues her friendship, with him feeling awkward and caged.
Pig remains very protective of Runt and finally their closeness raises the concerns of the school they attend. They are separated and Runt is sent away to boarding school. Pig is crushed by this and decides to track down Runt and make her his again. This starts off an irreversible chain of events that will ultimately end in tragedy. Pig finds Runt on their seventeenth birthday and takes her to a club. In a fit of jealous rage, however, Pig kills a boy who was dancing with Runt. The two flee the club and take a taxi to a beach where they make love. In the morning, Pig wordlessly allows Runt to smother him, knowing the punishment awaiting him. She stares out to sea considering suicide but decides against it.

Tags: violence, murder, romantic

Review:
Yes its horrible, ugly, violent, brutal and painful to watch at many points but here is why it hit me like wrecking ball.The story sets the two leads as friends of the highest caliber, being so close that a sort of hazy psychic bond has formed (although I like to think they don't really seem to notice/care, it just is).
I feel that these points are clearly brought forth in the liquor store scenes where Runt literally calls him off the poor clerk, yet until Pig went too far, she was smiling at and enjoying the brutal scene.
If you haven't seen it yet, I should warn that these comments may give away some plot points.The facile answers that one user suggest this film offers to the question of "what is love?" don't really deserve aknowledgement.
Pig's love for Runt is the one thing that is whole and real in his life.
Therefore his love takes on a growing desperation as he feels her slip away from him.A commenter questions why runt never "takes to" Pig. Why she is attracted to the bartender.The point of the film is that she can live in and relate to an outer world beyond her relationship with Pig, while Pig cannot.
Veering between the hyper-kinetic disco scenes and the peaceful fairy tale world of Pig and Runt's fantasies without jarring.
A film that creates a fine line between sweet and scary, 'Disco Pigs' takes you on a strange journey into a private little fairy tale world of two people who've never been separated who create chaos for everyone around them where ever they go until they're separated by their parents and school.
However when reunited they find themselves drifting apart as one's behavior moves from the playfully anti-social to the dangerously psychotic.Great performances by some of Irelands great new talents.This films an interesting watch, as it seems to create a new genre: Romantic Thriller.
Disco Pigs is an electric, disturbing and violent sprint through the unique world of Pig and Runt, two 17 year old kids who were born with a special, almost psychic affinity for one another.
When this invisible thread between Pig and Runt is stretched to breaking point, the inseparable are about to separate and which one will survive depends on which one can break free.I'll stick my neck out here and say that Disco Pigs has a real Clockwork Orange feel about it - its use of a lyrical communication between our two leads - a combination of baby talk and Shakespeare monologue gave me that strong impression.
The lead roles also exist in their own world, oblivious and unbound by the rules that govern us all.Pig and Runt are two kids that really don't want to grow up, but despite their enforced isolation from common reality the pressures bear upon them to change.
He is frustrated that their relationship, while deep, is not deeper, and she is perhaps seeing the blinkers removed from her eyes a bit, allowing the outside world a peek in.I've made mention of the language that is used throughout the film used by Pig and Runt; the dialogue between the two is at times heart breakingly beautiful; witness Pig's love expressed in words as he talks to himself about the beautiful passion they would both share when they would make love for the first time.
A 'happy' film doesn't make a good film.The acting was beautiful by the two main characters who seemed to have reached deep with-in themselves to act parts like these.The dark and murky scenes gave an overall dark atmosphere however the dark yet picturesque scenes created a personal sense of awe at the film.
The script, acting and background all combined together to make a deep interpretation of this apparent intuitive love that I found manages to grip you inside.The high use of dialect made a little of the film hard to understand but this also gave it a sense of culture.It was seen by me late at night on national TV.
The portrayal of the extreme love between the two main characters almost made me feel jealous about missing out on a strong friendship like that with someone.Even though the ending wasn't what I expected it or even what I wanted it to be it was still enough to make me want to purchase the film and research reviews and information about it..
But from there it just starts getting worse and spirals into making me feel really embarrassed for the main characters because of how bad it was.Firstly, Cillian Murphy has a TERRIBLE accent.
The sparkling dialog includes hilariously bad lines like: Runt:"Where are we going Pig?" Pig:"(bad accent)DIS PLACE." Pig:"Happy birthday Runt!" (1 minute later) Pig: "Happy birthday Runt!"I know Pig and Runt are supposed to be intense, reckless, us-against- the-world romantic madmen types but its hard to appreciate their screwed up relationship when you have no idea what's going on..
That's the question Runt (Elaine Cassidy) asks at the beginning of the film and her eyes throughout the film give you the impression that like an other Einstein the quest for an answer is distracting her from her life.
I admit that when I first saw this film I thought it was stupid and some of the scenes really were unnecessary, like the one where Pig describes his fantasies about Runt to the camera.
But after a second viewing and when I started to understand what the actors were saying because of their thick irish accents, I fell in love with this beautiful film.
This is an incredibly beautiful love story of two teenagers whose life has been connected from the day they were born.
Elaine Cassidy who was so young and innocent in Atom Egoyan's 'Felicia's journey' turns from a sexy bird when she dances in the club and seduces Pig's random victims, to a dreamer when she's staring at the sea or the sun (the most beautiful moment of the film is the one where Elaine says "and the sun really is a big beautiful shining thing"), to a scared little girl when she watches Pig hit someone at the end of the film (I won't say more to avoid giving away the end of the film) or when she's talking with her new friend at the new school.
But at the end of the day to a paying audience that want to be entertained, Disco Pigs is an ordeal to watch and I was surprised to see it was made by established producers Stephen Evans and Angus Finney  and financed by the flush Rennaisance Films.
Films of a similar theme, but also successful are Sean Penn's 'She's So Lovely' , Peter Jackson's 'Beautiful Creatures' and Suri Krishnamma's 'New Years Day'..
In fact, there just isn't anything I can recommend regarding it: the acting, I thought, was just over the top (Cillian Murphy especially just irritates me), I want to say that the directing was style over substance, but even the stylistic look of the film was weak and unconvincing, and of course the story....just ridiculous.
You do begin to feel the intense need for each other between the two, but for me that is when show it has no other real aspects of enjoyment.For me it felt like the emotion got to a level very fast in the film, the build up in this sense was very intense.
The characters grew, but without any real reason.I'd also like to pick up on pig's accent, which was a little confusing at time.
Otherwise, she has plenty of potential.Lastly, Disco Pigs was the first film I've seen that focuses for a large part on my native city.
They've been damaged primarily by outside interference in their  violently happy lifestyle, but also because of the burgeoning darkness lurking within both Pig, (an exceptional Cillian Murphy, bringing to mind the power and range of Gabriel Byrne or Murphy's (considered) contemporary, Jonathan Rhys-Myers) and his 'soul mate' Runt (Elaine Cassidy, an amazing force who flies credibly from demure to demented in the blink of an eye, she carries a presence not seen of an Irish actor on screen in decades) at any hormone driven  moment.As the stakes in life's game increase, the lovers become more desperate, possibly even more dangerous than they were, leading to a thrilling, yet inevitable, conclusion.As I've said, in my own opinion, this is not for everyone.
The synopsis on the back of the rental box explains that Runt and Pig have a unique bond, and the flashbacks used at several points in the film tease the viewer into thinking we'll get a credible explanation of how that bond became so powerful as to survive for so many years.
Irish screenwriter and director Kirsten Sheridan's feature film debut which was written by Irish playwright Enda Walsh after his play "Disco Pigs" from 1996 which starred Cillian Murphy and Irish actress Eileen Walsh, was screened at the 37th Chicago International Film Festival in 2001 and is an Irish production which was shot on location in Dublin, Cork and Wicklow in Ireland and produced by Irish producer Ed Guiney.
It tells the story about a 16-year-old student named Darren aka Pig who lives with his mother and younger sister in a terraced house in Cork, Ireland and his same aged childhood friend and sweetheart Sinead aka Runt who lives next door to him with her parents.
Instigated by Darren, they rule Cork as they please, but their teachers have picked up on the development of their relationship and when Sinead is sent to a special residential school called the Allen center in Donegal, they are separated for the first time in their lives.Finely and acutely directed by Irish filmmaker Kirsten Sheridan, this somewhat surreal fictional tale which is narrated by the female protagonist and mostly from her and the male protagonist's point of view, draws a dense and singular portrayal of an obsessive, intense and unrestrained relationship between a boy and girl who's world is shattered when one of them has to leave their home-place.
While notable for its colorful and atmospheric milieu depictions, fine production design by production designer Zoë Macleod, cinematography by Chilean cinematographer Igor Jadue-Lillo and Irish cinematographer Peter Robertson, costume design by Irish costume designer Lorna Marie Mugan and use of colors, this character-driven, dialog-driven and diverse independent film from the early 2000s contains a great score by Irish singer, songwriter and composer Gavin Friday and Irish musician and composer Maurice Seezer.This rhythmic, romantic, violent, riveting and at times darkly humorous psychological drama, which is mainly set against the backdrop of the coastal city of Cork in Ireland, about an otherworldly and unfulfilled romance between two rebellious Irish students who are seventeen days away from their 17th birthday, is impelled and reinforced by its fragmented narrative structure, subtle character development, intertwined studies of character, quick-witted dialog and the versatile and remarkable acting performances by Irish actor Cillian Murphy and Irish actress Elaine Cassidy.
At first I was a bit shocked of the violent way Pig and Runt were behaving but it gets clear in the movie why.
One of the thing I don´t like is the name of the movie "Disco Pigs".
But what is really good and worth watching are the beginning and the ending of Disco Pigs.
The intensity of the love between Pig and Runt manifests itself in a bizarre juxtaposition of tender moments between two seemingly innocent teenagers and acts of enraged violence.
You might find the film shocking and hate it, but one thing is for sure, you won't forget it.The Cork accents might make this film a bit inaccessible for a world audience but it is worth trying to look past this to the story beneath..
The relationship between Pig and Runt becomes very clear throughout the film; Pig feeds from Runt, making her weak with his violent love and jealously.
However when they become teenagers things continue the same way, with "Pig" and "Runt" both believing that they are King and Queen and that they can do whatever they want.
However, Pig is even more unstable after this and sets out to find Runt and continue the relationship.I wasn't aware of the play or even the subject matter when I sat to watch this film but I figured it was worth a try.
But this does not hinder its effect whatsoever.In fact it makes me wish i'd have seen it as a play also.Cillian Murphy looks delightful as ever, and I believe this film shows his incredible acting talent to the maximum.
The scenes are put together well, and I have such clear and beautiful images in my head , especially as Pig and Runts dream is acted out (KING AND QUEEN).
I thought this movie was the most amazing Film I have ever seen in my life- Casting wise-Cillian Murphy is my most favourite actor and for very good reason, Pig is not an easy character to become because he is obsessive, dangerous, and still has the innocence of a child-the language and world Pig and Runt invent is poetic with twisted little games that they invent- You could think of this movie being "a more twisted version of romeo and juliet"- so these two soul mates were born only minuets apart, ignoring the world around them they vowed to always keep things the way they were, only them two, Sinead and Darren, Runt and Pig, King and Queen.
Them staying in this world only made for them two-all changed days before their 17th birthday-Pig's eyes are being opened on seeing Runt in more of a romantic way-but his obsessiveness gets the best of him-ending in the most heartbreaking sacrifices i have ever seen..
After seeing Cillian Murphy's excellent performances in several movies (Red Eye, Batman Begins, Girl With A Pearl Earring) I began to search for other movies, particularly ones that he plays a large role in.
From the very beginning it's like oh no, It's Cillian Murphy and he's going to do something awful again.There's just something about their relationship that makes me want to tell Runt to run away.
And at the same time I see comments about them, like some people don't just want Runt to be safe from Pig, which seems so weird to me.
The two leads were just perfect and they conveyed so well the weird, fantastic relationship between Pig and Runt and how they cared nothing for the outside world.The cinematography was beautifully done.
DISCO PIGS is one of the best films I have seen in a very long time.
Much is made of the violence in Disco Pigs, reviewers saying that it's mindless, but I think this is a much subtler film than they are giving it credit for.
And as for Pig, he's a bright boy, but one caught up in his own world, how better a way to express his love for Runt than by doing to others what is done to her, but on a far grander, more nihilistic scale?
And Runt doesn't stay passive, ultimately she is sickened by the violence and realises she has to make the break and discover her own personality.This is definitely a film to watch.
I absolutely adored this film it just really got to me, I thought it was beautiful and tragic.My sister saw it and told me I'd love,we have similar tastes, so we watched when I went to stay with her.I know it's sad but I always really root for everything to be alright I really care about the characters ,I want to look after them.It's awful because Pig's not in love with Runt, he's in love with his feelings for her sorry I'm not very good at explaining things but I know what I meen.For some reason this film really spoke to me, I've never had that close a relationship or even a moderatly close relationship with anyone, perhaps that why it meant something.
I also thought the movie's treatment of when Pig and Runt start to grow apart was also well-depicted.
Not to mention the makers of this film did a good job of making me feel the intensity and desperation Pig feels when he feels like he's losing the only person he's ever cared about.
i still don't quite know what Pig says to Runt before going in their houses at the end of the night.
The latter applies to the leading characters Darren/"Pig" and Sinéad/"Runt", who have known each other from the day they were born, living as neighbours, attending the same school...Both have odd insights about life and surroundings, paving the way for criminal and tragic events.
The ending was generally anticipated as well, but, thanks to wonderful performances by Elaine Cassidy and Cillian Murphy, the 1 hour 25 minutes film is catchy to follow.A twisted Romeo and Juliet in a contemporary closed community...
I love you Pig. Happy birthday Runt.
I see some reviewers talk about the supposed beauty of the film and the wonderful relationship between the two leads.
Growing up next door Darren was nicknamed Pig and Sinead Runt and the two shared the same make-believe world and created their own language.
The attachment grows more intense and when Runt moves away Pig is destined to search for her relentlessly.The thick Irish accent makes it a bit hard to understand at times; but then again it could have been mistaken for their own created mumbled language.
I've only recently discovered the amazing beauty and talent that is Cillian Murphy, and am devouring his films as fast as I can get my hands on them.DISCO PIGS is a film that is as beautiful, tender, ardent and violent as the love that seems to surge between Pig and Runt (Murphy and Elaine Cassidy).
I must also add that the ethereal music score by Gavin Friday and Maurice Seezer is intriguing and perfectly suited to the tone of this film.Born on the same day in the same Irish town, Pig and Runt are next door neighbors and grow up together as best friends.