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Disco Pigs More at IMDbPro »

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44 reviews in total

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60 out of 69 people found the following review useful:
The most unapologetic love story ever, 28 September 2003
Author: Grant Johnson (harkness78) from Minnesota U.s.

When I saw this movie for the first time, I liked it a lot, but was still on the fence of "greatness". Lots of good things happened but I wasn't sure if it added up to a full meal of a film.

HOW WRONG I WAS.

I still had questions and popped it back in the next day and I can honestly say that this is the most romantic and touching film I have seen. Ever.

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). They in actuality are two halves of the same person, Pig being the voice, strength, and ego of the person. Runt is the other half consisting of the thought, rational and id. When they become separated, the calmer thinker deals better with others than the brash speaker. 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. When something this unifying clashes with puberty, sexuality, society, coming-of-age, and separation they act out only as a person can. Neither of them are acting crazy or differently. This is all they know.

Other comments are very wrong when they say that Runt has feelings for the bartender or her roommate. Her feelings of love and devotion to Pig are always there, NEVER wavering for a moment. But shes learned to cope with the world should it become an issue to them, where as Pig has not.

Were I to be in the same relationship with someone that was that deep, that intense, I know that I would not hesitate to do anything Pig did. I dont believe in violence in any way shape or form either, I just know that what they have isn't temporary of fleeting. Hes not fighting to hurt people, he is literally fighting for his life. This depth of this notion of love is shockingly brilliant and really impressed me.

The end is the only sort of ending that could happen. Their love has become something so passionate and uncontrollable that it cant work in our world. No one would understand.

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33 out of 41 people found the following review useful:
Exceptional but tragic, 30 March 2005

Author: bellapussycat1 from United Kingdom

This film was absolutely spectacular. It was well acted, shot and wrote and the mix of innocence and anger were well represented.

This film was one that i had eagerly anticipated watching and i was not disappointed by it. At times it was painful to watch but was compelling all the same as it really drew the audience in. Cillian Murphy was excellent as the mentally challenged Pig as even in his madness you are drawn to him and his obvious similarity to a confused child. Elaine Cassidy was equally well cast as the introverted Runt.

I would recommend this film although admittedly it will not be to everyones tastes.

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29 out of 35 people found the following review useful:
the future of irish film, 17 October 2001
Author: ch77 from ireland

Its amazing how some of the comments here have completely missed the point of this film. 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. But lets do so anyway.

It would be hard to find a more poignant and complex depiction of the strive for 'pure' love in the face of an ever intruding reality. Pig's love for Runt is the one thing that is whole and real in his life. Yet life, and the fact of their growing up, is slowly taking her away from him. Without her, he himself has no real existence. 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. This world is represented by the barman she dances with, by the roomate she slowly begins to open up to. It is this ability that enables her to survive whilst Pig is spiralling into an ever more violent self-destruction. She loves Pig but realises that the insulated world thay have cocooned themselves within must fall apart. She ultimately saves him from a world that he cannot live in and that she knows he must.

The real triumph of this film is how it completely trancends its stage bound roots. The action is opened out and incorporates a range of characters which, if never fully rounded, likewise are never mere cliches. There is in fact only one speech lifted directly from the play, where Pig expresses his growing frustration as sexuality begins to enter their relationship. The ending soliloquay which one commenter feels betrayed the stage origins was in fact completely new to the film, and indeed the ending itself is completely rewritten.

The direction of this film is lively and interesting. Veering between the hyper-kinetic disco scenes and the peaceful fairy tale world of Pig and Runt's fantasies without jarring. It manages to take Pig on a road trip without ever losing pace and leaves us with a truly heartwrenching scene of sacrifice and beauty.

This is the future of Irish cinema; fresh, exciting directors and a depiction of Ireland that manages to be both free from stereotypical depictions of Irishness whilst maintaining a distinct storytelling style. Go see it.

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25 out of 37 people found the following review useful:
A film that doesn't have enough words to describe its greatness, 1 August 2001

Author: Trevor Gensch (trevorg@consultant.com) from Brisbane, Queensland

Two 16-year-olds share a birthday, a love, a language of their own and a uniquely violent world view. 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.

It's a gentle and tender story about a pure, innocent love between two inseparable people who 'want for something different' out of life, lashing out at 'the sameness of it all'. 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. Pig wants the relationship to move to the 'next level', but innocent Runt either doesn't understand or doesn't want that right now. She seems more interested in experiencing other boys - finding a local bartender particularly intriguing. 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. It nearly made this hardened critic cry.

Disco Pigs is nothing short of a masterpiece. It is unconventional, yes, but that is the stuff of greatness. The incredible soundtrack complements the visuals perfectly and is nearly a character in its own right. My only gripe is `REMOVE THE SUBTITLES!'

If this film gets a local Australian distribution, see it. It's that simple. 10 out of 10.

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21 out of 33 people found the following review useful:
A deep and arty film., 18 January 2005

Author: ma_146 from United Kingdom

I happened to perceive Disco Pigs as a deep and arty film. It managed to portray a priceless and rare love between two people and the consequences of such an emotional love. It's not a 'go happy' film and this is what I found was one of its more original components of which there was many. 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. Perhaps not a sociable film I might not have enjoyed it so much if I were with someone. 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.

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12 out of 16 people found the following review useful:
bizarre and brilliant, 3 March 2004
Author: barend3 from Sydney, Australia

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.

7.5/10

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11 out of 16 people found the following review useful:
This film describes the words soul mates perfectly (well, almost!), 11 January 2005

Author: Kirsten from United Kingdom

I saw this film a few weeks ago and was totally fascinated by it from the beginning. The characters are so sweet. The story is about how two people are bound to each other from when they were little. They will let nothing come between them. Soul mates from the start. The film takes you on a journey through their lives and follows the relationship as they grow older. My favourite bit was where the little boy just waited, waited so long for his friend to come home. It was perfect, summing up the whole film. Some of the film is a bit violent so brace yourself if you are going to watch it, but don't let that put you off because the film as a whole is what i can only describe as beautiful. This movie is a must for every one, just watch it once and you'll probably be thinking about it forever.

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14 out of 23 people found the following review useful:
Much better than the title would suggest, 14 May 2005

Author: shneur from United States

There's a large psychiatric literature on the "twinning effect," which is often a beautiful thing, but in its pathologic manifestation shows up as what's called "symbiotic psychosis." In plain language, although not biological twins, the two main characters here grew up so closely intertwined that their private world disallowed the intrusion of mundane reality. "Private language" is often a characteristic of this clinical syndrome, and in the movie the heavy Cork dialect accentuated (at least for non-Irish) the barrier between the characters and the viewer. Does anyone remember Melanie's song, "We were so close, there was no room/ We bled inside each other's wounds"? Quite apropos. Also, I felt reflections of "David & Lisa," but updated and sort of run in reverse. As with much Irish literature, one has to be prepared for a view of humanity that never crawls out from under Original Sin, but nevertheless this is a serious work, very much worth watching, and deserved a better title.

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15 out of 26 people found the following review useful:
what's the color of the love?, 22 June 2003

Author: wildstrawbe from home

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. That might have worked well in a play but it doesn't work well in the movie. 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. A connection that has almost ruined their short life and the life of everyone around them. As Runt says at some point while she's staring at the sea "I wish the sea would take me out of me and turn me into something else" (or something to that extent). 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. A brilliant performance by this beautiful young actress. Cillian Murphy who I had the chance to see in '28 days later' gives us an excellent performance as the psycho who has given his heart to Runt. The music of the film is also very good. Overall, a film that rewards you if you give it a chance.

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6 out of 10 people found the following review useful:
Why was it so bad?, 20 March 2005

Author: no_more_lies_ from United Kingdom

Personally, I don't understand why people have said this movie is so bad. It is fair to say that maybe sometimes the things Pig (Cillian Murphy) says are a bit much and put a downside on the movie but I've heard much worse in other, highly rated, movies. The storyline itself is a simple yet interesting and well thought out one which has a fantastic ending. If you do begin to watch this movie and dislike it it is still worth watching to the end and may perhaps change your view of it a little. This is the kind of movie people will usually either love or hate. Some will find it horrible and others will find it somewhat romantic and very good. Rather than reading comments that slate it and taking that view yourself you should definitely watch it and make your own mind up.

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