Thriller

Piggy

- "It's a Terrible Thing That Happened"

London, modern day: Joe, a mild mannered young man is bored by his life. When his beloved brother is murdered Joe finds solace in Piggy, one of his brother's old friends. Piggy helps Joe to cope with grief, intent on saving him and helping him get justice for his brother's killing. As their friendship grows Joe finds himself in an increasing dangerous and murky world of violence and revenge. As Joe life collapses around him he starts to question who Piggy really is, and how honest he's really been with him. When Joe confronts Piggy a series of events are put in place that lead to a disastrous climax.

Release Date : 2012-05-03

Language :English

Adult : false

Status : Released

Production Company : DP FilmsFulwell 73 Productions

Production Country : United Kingdom

Alternative Titles :

Cast

Character Name : Piggy

Original Name : Paul Anderson

Gender : Male

Character Name : Joe

Original Name : Martin Compston

Gender : Male

Character Name : Jamie

Original Name : Ed Skrein

Gender : Male

Character Name : Anthony

Original Name : Josh Herdman

Gender : Male

Character Name : Claire

Original Name : Louise Dylan

Gender : Female

Character Name : Frank

Original Name : Jumayn Hunter

Gender : Male

Character Name : Davey

Original Name : Troy Glasgow

Gender : Male

Character Name : Craig

Original Name : Roland Manookian

Gender : Male

Character Name : Walker

Original Name : Colin Burt Vidler

Gender : Male

Character Name : John

Original Name : Neil Maskell

Gender : Male

Character Name : Justin

Original Name : Lorenzo Camporese

Gender : Male

Character Name : Danny

Original Name : Tommy McDonnell

Gender : Male

Character Name : Mugger

Original Name : Sonny Muslim

Gender : Male

Character Name : Chris

Original Name : Ryan Winsley

Gender : Male

Character Name : Tom

Original Name : Darren Kuppan

Gender : Male

Character Name : Ben

Original Name : Billy Seymour

Gender : Male

Character Name : Heather

Original Name : Ebony Gilbert

Gender : Female

Character Name : Adam & Eve Receptionist

Original Name : Holly Harrison

Gender : Male

Character Name : Hospital Receptionist

Original Name : Sophie Glew

Gender : Male

Character Name : Office Receptionist (as Fran Hounsom)

Original Name : Frances Hounsom

Gender : Male

Character Name : Anthony's Girlfriend (as Kate Korbell)

Original Name : Kate Korbel

Gender : Male

Character Name : Decorator (as John Fitzpatrick)

Original Name : John Fitzpatrick

Gender : Male

Character Name : Guy on the Street (uncredited)

Original Name : Clive Aitikins

Gender : Male

Character Name : Commuter office worker (Uncredited)

Original Name : Stuart Bailey

Gender : Male

Character Name : Commuter office worker (uncredited)

Original Name : Mike Burton Phillipson

Gender : Male

Character Name : Bar customer (uncredited)

Original Name : Nick Donald

Gender : Male

Character Name : Office Executive / Passer-by on Street (uncredited)

Original Name : Marco Flammer

Gender : Male

Character Name : Commuter office worker (uncredited)

Original Name : Susan Fordham

Gender : Female

Character Name : Bobby (uncredited)

Original Name : Daniel Harland

Gender : Male

Character Name : Extra (uncredited)

Original Name : Kay Kobby

Gender : Male

Character Name : Prison officer on gate 2 (uncredited)

Original Name : Johnny Lynch

Gender : Male

Character Name : Passers By (uncredited)

Original Name : Meaghan O'Neill

Gender : Male

Character Name : Pub Goer (uncredited)

Original Name : Mike Ray

Gender : Male

Character Name : Guy Going to Work (uncredited)

Original Name : Santi Scinelli

Gender : Male

Character Name : Mourner at a funeral (uncredited)

Original Name : Johanna Thea

Gender : Female

Character Name : Passer By (uncredited)

Original Name : Luke Frazer Wright

Gender : Male

Reviews

John Chard

@John Chard

2024-05-16

Piggy in the middle of film makers trying to make a living. Piggy is written and directed by Kieron Hawkes. It stars Martin Compston, Josh Herdman, Neil Maskell, Louise Dylan and Paul Anderson. Music is by Bill Ryder-Jones and cinematography by James Friend When his brother is killed by thugs, Joe (Compston) is persuaded to mete out vengeance by his brother's friend, Piggy (Anderson). Piggy, not exactly a great title really, is a good film, it really is. That is if one can skip back nearly 20 years and embrace the idea at its core all over again. We see it a lot these days, good films from the independent side of cinema shot down in flames by critics, both professional and amateur, because there is no originality on show. And even when a new twist is added to a staple genre, it stands no chance of gaining a weighty amount of critical support. Piggy is far from flawless, I would be surprised if writer and director Kieron Hawkes was on record as saying that is the case. It's a film that will always suffer by comparison to a couple of huge critical darling movies that came out of America and the UK previously. I will not mention them, because that pretty much spoils the core of Piggy, something so many amateur reviewers and message board posters fail to grasp. But I grumpily digress... Piggy is a violent picture, much like its lead protagonist in fact, but in amongst the blood and bone crunching, there's smart narrative splinters about alienation, fear of society, fear of violence and yes! Fear of finding the dark half of yourself taking over. So nothing new there of course, especially in British cinema during the gritty realism wave that has become something of a forte in my lifetime. But they are there and shows the film to have more to offer than merely being yet another London based stabathon. Cast are good, with Compston once again proving to be a very under rated actor capable of really tuning into the art of under playing a role with confusion and sincerity of conflicting emotions. Anderson is scary as the title character, if a touch too cartoonish, while Maskell shows no signs of wanting to break free of the hard-man typecasting that now defines his career. Friend's cinematography is sometimes guilty of being too murky, and the "metallic" colour lenses favoured on occasions are a mistake since it's not a sci-fi or neo-noir movie. Yet for all its inherent flaws and rawness, and the fact it owes its very being to other more lauded productions, Piggy should not be discounted as being a viable British slice of grit. The blood hounds are catered for, and those with a bent for the tints of emotionally damaged characters should definitely consider viewing this. It deserves better than its current internet rating and Kieron Hawkes, clearly a work in progress, might just be someone for British film fans to keep an eye on. 7/10