Film review by Kevin Patterson
PI Rating: ***1/2 (out of four) R, 1998 Director/Screenplay: Darren Aronofsky Starring Cast: Sean Gullette, Mark Margolis.
I think it's pretty safe to say that few films nowadays feature an isolated, obsessed math whiz as a lead character, and even fewer put such a character in a suspense film in which theoretical mathematics and Jewish mysticism figure prominently into the plot. Darren Aronofsky, in his feature-film debut PI, does both, crafting a surreal psychological thriller of considerable intelligence that examines the paper-thin line between genius and insanity.
The main character of PI is Max Cohen (Sean Gullette), a recent college graduate who seems to have turned his apartment into a theoretical mathematics laboratory. Complex computer machinery is everywhere, set up by Max to perform calculations designed to predict the performance of the stock market. Max believes that literally everything can be explained by distinct mathematical patterns, and it is his ambition to discover them. He is extremely private and not very friendly: when someone knocks at the door, he usually looks out the peephole and pretends not to be home until they go away. He is also beset by cluster headaches, for which he is constantly popping pills and self-administering steroid injections, in quick, mechanical motions that seem to have become disturbingly routine. Lately, his headaches have become harder to control, occasionally causing him to pass out and experience strange nightmares that are not too different from his everyday life.
Part of Aronofsky's achievement in PI is the filming technique he uses to get the audience to identify with Max, who would probably be played as a one-dimensional arrogant jerk by most filmmakers. The film is shot in a grainy black and white, and its soundtrack is full of ominous buzzes and whirrs. The cutting is often rapid, with the film sometimes sped up during Max's narration in which he states his theories about nature and mathematical patterns. There are also numerous close-ups on the machinery in Max's apartment and on complex number charts. The total effect of all this is to make the film seem like a cross between an old "Outer Limits" episode and a "Nova" special, and the audience is swept up in the sense that Max might really be close to some amazing discovery and isn't just some insane crackpot.
Max's already strange lifestyle takes a turn for the stranger when his program suddenly locks up and spits out a 216-digit number. Soon afterwards, he finds himself being pursued both by Jewish Cabalists, who think the number might be the numerical equivalent of the ancient Hebrew name of God, and by Wall Street types who think Max may have actually found the mysterious pattern in the stock market. Max, reflecting on the fact that there are some mathematical patterns which are known to have curious applications in nature, decides that he may well be onto something and goes after it with increasing rigor, all the while becoming more paranoid as the audience is left to wonder which of the on-screen events are real and which are delusional fantasy.
The problem, of course, is that once you get into such strange notions as trying to find a single pattern to the entire universe, the line between scientific breakthrough and delusional fantasy becomes increasingly hard to draw, and this more than anything else is the central concern of the film and the message underlying Max's descent into obsession and paranoia. As Max's former professor (Mark Margolis) points out, it isn't hard to pick a pattern--any pattern--and decide you're finding it everywhere you look. And if Max may be prone to delusion, then what of the investors and the Cabalists? Are they visionaries on the verge of an earth-shattering discovery, or are they just hacks whose pursuit of knowledge has spun out of control?
PI eventually makes its way to an ending that, while effective on a symbolic level, seemed a little hasty and dramatically incomplete. But overall, I would have to say that PI is one of the more uniquely satisfying experiences I've had at the movies lately: it's fascinating to watch, and leaves the audience with ample food for thought (I'm pretty sure this is the first time I've come out of a movie wanting to do research on Jewish mysticism). It's a remarkable debut for Aronofsky, and personally I can't wait to see what he does next.
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