Pi

Title: Pi
Rating: 4/5
Genre: Thriller, Sci-Fi
Starring: Sean Gullette
Director: Darren Aronofsky

As a fan of Aronofsky’s work – even the questionable “The Fountain” – this is perhaps one that has spent too long on the shelf. His work doesn’t intrigue me for the subjects that he decides to tackle, but rather the fresh eyes he lays upon them, the willing to experiment with technique to achieve his end result, and his incredibly high success rate. There are many films that concern themselves with drugs (as in his follow up, “Requiem for a Dream”) and an abundance of films that delve into the psyche of the troubled genius, but only Aronofsky can pull it off in this manner, evident from the opening scene. And it is this, his debut feature length film, shot on a low budget in black and white film that shows no departure from his unique style.

Following the brilliant but tormented Max Cohen, a recluse beyond belief in the middle of Manhattan obsessed by his mathematical theory; his belief that all nature can be explained as a series of number patterns, he thus begins his quest to predict the stock market. In a freak accident, a seemingly meaningless 216 digit code is spat out at him as his computer dies, throwing it aside it is only later that he truly understands the importance of this powerful number. Hunted by Wall Street representatives and held captive by a Cabalistic sect, they attempt to extract this mythical number from him for their own purposes.

Whilst you may expect mathematics takes a pivotal role in this film, this isn’t just one for maths students. Every concept is briefly explained and largely irrelevant compared to what the numbers represent; instead the focus is on the lead role performed by Gullette, his descending madness as he remains determined to pursue an answer that caused his mentor to have a stroke, and the struggles as he tries to come to terms with those who wish to extract the answer from him. It will require you to think, but not of Fibonacci sequences or Euclid’s number, but rather what the terms represent. The 216 digit number hunted by the Cabalists and those on Wall Street, demonstrating the evil lengths that they are willing to go to in order to attain its power.

The choice of Gullette as the lead role could not have been better suited, utilising a number of camera techniques – notably the ‘snorri-cam,’ where the camera is rigidly attached to the body so as to follow facing the target as it runs, creating a shaky background to a clear and in focus image – to allow us to travel into his mindset. As he notices the shakes from his mental condition, we feel the pain with him. As he hallucinates (many of which are reminiscent of Lynch’s “Eraserhead”), we empathise with his fear, and it is this understanding of this fascinating character that drives our own interest as he is swept up in this journey.

However, this isn’t his masterpiece. It’s a triumph of what can be accomplished with a wealth of ideas and a low budget, of how experimental film-making can present an actual piece of art that feels distinct and unique from others. It’s creative, imaginative and displays a wealth of idea’s to be considered an analysed, but it’s short run time and lack of depth doesn’t explore the notions as deeply as it easily could have. This shows a gifted young director perfecting his art, but it is only later that he is capable of pushing these ideas to their maximum effect.