Pi (1998)
Director: Darren Aronofsky Cast: Sean Gullette, Mark Margolis, Ben Shenkman, Pamela Hart Screenplay: Darren Aronofsky Producers: Eric Watson Runtime: 84 min. US Distribution: Artisan Films Rated R: violence, language, disturbing images
By Nathaniel R. Atcheson (nate@pyramid.net)
When I was in high school, I was a math nerd. I wasn't as bad as the real Math Nerds, but I was close enough. I sat quietly in calculus and got As (though only once did I earn the highest score on an exam). I really liked math, and I was good at it. I thought of things in terms of math, in terms of equations and numbers, and my thought process was logical and straightforward. I was also a pretty boring person back then. I am, however, overstating the importance of math in my life, because now, in my third year of college, I'm an English major.
But I still gaze upon math with a certain level of affectionate remembrance. Perhaps that is why I greatly admire Pi, Darren Aronofsky's visually masterful tribute to math nerds. This is an engaging, profound film -- it strings us along in a whirl of mathematical madness, and then concludes with a fascinating hypothesis about the nature of the universe around us. It's a film that feels new and original, a thriller that doesn't have gun shots or car chases, and a suspense piece that never regresses into inanity or stupidity.
The main character is an odd, introverted math nerd named Max Cohen (Sean Gullette). He works on finding patterns in the stock market. Over time, however, the numbers get to him, and he becomes obsessed with finding a pattern that connects all the contents of the universe. His journey begins one night when his computer spits out a 216-digit number, and then crashes. Max, distraught from losing all of his work, falls into depression, and periodically goes into seizures during which he has to take pills and give himself injections.
It turns out that there are many people after this 216-digit number, and they're all trying to get Max to give it to them. A group of Jews (led by a numerologist played by Ben Shenkman) need to find a word for God that is 216 letters longs. And a crazy lady (Pamela Hart) wants the number to understand the stock market more clearly. Max needs to confide in his former math professor (Mark Margolis), but his professor just tries to deter him from his path because he knows what lies at the end of it.
There's not a moment in Pi that isn't fascinating in its bizarre, surreal way. Aronofsky's visual style is shockingly straightforward; the film was shot in grainy black and white, with blaring contrasts, and the result is a stark picture that always drips with desperation. The sets are small and claustrophobic, and often too dark to see clearly. This is not a flaw, but an appropriate stylistic choice -- Aronofsky succeeds in making Max's world unique and horrifying, and he does this to prove his point.
The story is fantastic and original; I've never seen a film about math, and it's not likely that I will see another one any time soon. Aronofsky takes the story in the right direction, by searching for the connection between math and nature. He also does his story a great service by developing the main character, and by finding an actor as capable as Sean Gullette. Gullette makes up for inexperience with determination and energy, and delivers one of the most inspired performances I've seen this year. It can't be easy to play a character so detached from what we all know is reality.
Pi revolves around mathematical concepts, but don't let that keep you from seeing the film. It doesn't pander to math nerds -- it makes its points clearly without going overboard with terms and concepts.
The film was made with just $60,000, but it never seems low-budget. In fact, by comparing it to a $115 million creatively bankrupt film like Godzilla, Pi proves that a good script should cost a lot more than special effects. Perhaps, with a larger budget, Pi would not have been as good -- I can see how this story could have been ruined by special effects. Instead, we have an idea-driven science fiction film, one that is both unique and well-developed. I shouldn't tell you why the film is so satisfying at the end, but I will say one thing: understanding Aronofsky's theme takes nothing more than a brief shot of our heroic math nerd calmly looking into the clear sky.
***1/2 out of **** (8/10, A-)
Visit FILM PSYCHOSIS at http://www.pyramid.net/natesmovies
Nathaniel R. Atcheson
The review above was posted to the
rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup (de.rec.film.kritiken for German reviews).
The Internet Movie Database accepts no responsibility for the contents of the
review and has no editorial control. Unless stated otherwise, the copyright
belongs to the author.
Please direct comments/criticisms of the review to relevant newsgroups.
Broken URLs inthe reviews are the responsibility of the author.
The formatting of the review is likely to differ from the original due
to ASCII to HTML conversion.
Related links: index of all rec.arts.movies.reviews reviews