Our ongoing column giving the spotlight to movies that bucked the Hollywood Blockbuster trend and still managed to deliver a superior viewing experience. Note that these reviews may contain spoilers.
By John J. Joex
Rating: 4 ½ out of 5 Stars
Pi is an odd and at times obtuse indie film that came out back in 1998 from writer/director Darren Aronofsky. It zeroes in on a reclusive man named Max Cohen (Sean Gullette) who is a number theorist and may have discovered a numerical sequence with great predictive power and that perhaps even has mystical origins. As the film starts, Max informs us through the voice-over narration that he believes everything in the universe can be understood with numbers and that if you graph these numbers then patterns will begin to emerge. He has created his own super-computer (named Euclid) and he is trying to unlock patterns that would predict the Stock Market (not for financial gain, though, just to prove it can be done). His computer melts down in the process, though not before spitting out an odd 216 digit sequence of numbers. He consults his mentor and former professor who tells him he needs to take a break because he has become obsessed with this pursuit and it is affecting his health (Max suffers from seizures and extreme headaches). The professor becomes even more concerned when Max tells him about the number his computer generated as this hearkens back to some of his own early research. Two parties are pursuing Max throughout all of this as well. One is a sinister corporation who hopes to use his findings to control the Stock Market (and they actually crash the market when they use a portion of the number he discovered). The other is a Hasidic Jewish group who believes that a particular 216 digit number could be a code to God’s name and could be the key to the beginning of the Messianic Age. Max is not particularly interested in helping either of these groups, though, as he follows his obsession to understand the number which he believes could unlock the mysteries of the universe.
This film, which Aronofsky filmed adeptly in grainy black and white, provides an intense, intricate Speculative Fiction tale, with a psychological twist, that grabs the viewers and draws them into the story. With its number theory based premise, it could easily fly quickly above the heads of most audiences, but the film never dwells on the more intricate details of number theory that could easily weigh it down. Instead, it focuses more on the psychological aspects of a man on the brink of revelation who may not be able to cope with the epiphany it will bring. Like Adam toying with the forbidden fruit, Max has already nearly succumbed to the perils of his quest for knowledge and clearing the final hurdle could push him over the edge.
Pi, Aronofsky’s first film, was made on the tiny budget (by the Hollywood scale) of $60,000, but it never looks cheap or like a homemade project. The black and white photography (an unfortunately under-utilized art in this day of CGI-bloated films) along with the close angles from the hand-held camera lend to the cramped, claustrophobic feel of the movie and emphasize the sense of urgency that permeates throughout film. This masterfully helps bridge the gap between the intellectual subject matter and the more psychological undercurrents that keep the audience engaged in the action even if it may leave their heads spinning at times.
Some may argue that this one does not really count as a Science Fiction film, and that it is nothing more than a psychological thriller. But it definitely works on the Speculative Fiction level as Max tries to comprehend the vast implications of the theoretical numbers that he tries to decode in order to unlock hidden mysteries. In either case, this is definitely an excellent film and one in which genre fans will find both alluring and engaging.
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