Disco Pigs
Encyclopedia
Disco Pigs is a 2001 Irish
film directed by Kirsten Sheridan
and written by Enda Walsh
, who adapted it from his 1996 play of the same name. Cillian Murphy
and Elaine Cassidy
star as Cork
teenagers who have a lifelong, but unhealthy, friendship that is imploding as they approach adulthood.
s, Darren and Sinéad, nicknamed "Pig" and "Runt". Pig and Runt 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 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. There, in a fit of jealous rage, Pig kills a boy who was dancing with Runt. The two flee the club and take a taxi to the beach and the two make love. In the morning Runt, knowing that horrible punishment awaits Pig, kills him. She considers committing suicide, but decides against it.
Darren/Pig is portrayed by Cillian Murphy
, who also originated the part on the stage. Runt is the only person Pig knows well. He cannot begin to comprehend a world where Runt does not exist. Together they create a surreal world where there is little division between reality and dreams and Pig's and Runt's two personas. Pig is a strange, volatile dreamer.
Runt is portrayed by Elaine Cassidy
. She is the calmer of the two characters. When events involving Pig get too wild, Runt steps in quietly. Although the less voiced of the two, she is the more independent. Eileen Walsh
played this role on stage.
Pig and Runt are the only actual characters in the play version. The other characters are merely described by them. However, the film has a number of other, mostly very minor, characters beyond Pig and Runt.
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
film directed by Kirsten Sheridan
Kirsten Sheridan
Kirsten Sheridan is an Irish film director and screenwriter. The director of August Rush and Disco Pigs , Sheridan was nominated for an Academy Award for co-writing the semi-autobiographical film In America with her father, director Jim Sheridan, and her sister, Naomi Sheridan.-Biography:Born in...
and written by Enda Walsh
Enda Walsh
Enda Walsh is an Irish playwright born in Dublin and currently living in London. Walsh attended the same secondary school where both Roddy Doyle and Paul Mercier taught. Having written for the Dublin Youth Theatre, he moved to Cork where he wrote Fishy Tales for the Graffiti Theatre Company,...
, who adapted it from his 1996 play of the same name. Cillian Murphy
Cillian Murphy
Cillian Murphy is an Irish film and theatre actor. He is often noted by critics for his chameleonic performances in diverse roles and distinctive blue eyes and general sex appeal....
and Elaine Cassidy
Elaine Cassidy
Elaine Cassidy is an award-winning Irish actress and is best known for playing the lead character Abby Mills in the American CBS TV series Harper's Island, Felicia in Felicia's Journey opposite Bob Hoskins, Runt in Disco Pigs opposite Cillian Murphy, and Lydia in The Others.-Early life:Elaine...
star as Cork
Cork (city)
Cork is the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland and the island of Ireland's third most populous city. It is the principal city and administrative centre of County Cork and the largest city in the province of Munster. Cork has a population of 119,418, while the addition of the suburban...
teenagers who have a lifelong, but unhealthy, friendship that is imploding as they approach adulthood.
Plot
The film revolves around the intense relationship of the two teenage protagonistProtagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
s, Darren and Sinéad, nicknamed "Pig" and "Runt". Pig and Runt 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 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. There, in a fit of jealous rage, Pig kills a boy who was dancing with Runt. The two flee the club and take a taxi to the beach and the two make love. In the morning Runt, knowing that horrible punishment awaits Pig, kills him. She considers committing suicide, but decides against it.
Characters
Cillian Murphy
Cillian Murphy is an Irish film and theatre actor. He is often noted by critics for his chameleonic performances in diverse roles and distinctive blue eyes and general sex appeal....
, who also originated the part on the stage. Runt is the only person Pig knows well. He cannot begin to comprehend a world where Runt does not exist. Together they create a surreal world where there is little division between reality and dreams and Pig's and Runt's two personas. Pig is a strange, volatile dreamer.
Runt is portrayed by Elaine Cassidy
Elaine Cassidy
Elaine Cassidy is an award-winning Irish actress and is best known for playing the lead character Abby Mills in the American CBS TV series Harper's Island, Felicia in Felicia's Journey opposite Bob Hoskins, Runt in Disco Pigs opposite Cillian Murphy, and Lydia in The Others.-Early life:Elaine...
. She is the calmer of the two characters. When events involving Pig get too wild, Runt steps in quietly. Although the less voiced of the two, she is the more independent. Eileen Walsh
Eileen Walsh
-Biography:Born and raised in Cork, Ireland, Walsh was raised in a Catholic household, and had no intention of becoming an actress, until she followed in the footsteps of her elder sister, who was also an actress, and young Eileen began to attend theatre workshops...
played this role on stage.
Pig and Runt are the only actual characters in the play version. The other characters are merely described by them. However, the film has a number of other, mostly very minor, characters beyond Pig and Runt.