First of all, I would like to say that Pi Day is the worst holiday ever created, and I hope the creators of it die a terrible death (well, maybe not that bad, but I hope they at least get crapped on by a bird). However, since I recently saw Darren Aronofsky's outstanding film Pi, I figured that this holiday was good for something and that I would write something about it.
As you can see, I did a recent post on another of Aronofsky's films, The Fountain, and as you can see, I was not a huge fan of it. As a result, I didn't have enormous expectations in seeing this movie. I mean, I remember that Requiem for a Dream was very good, but I saw that about three years ago, and I only saw the R-rated version, not the full one.
Anyways, I found Pi to be an absolutely amazing movie. I was actually convinced of how much I was going to like it by the haunting techno music playing while on the menu screen of the DVD.
Sean Gullette is surprisingly good as the lead character, a math genius who struggles with a childhood trauma and insanity. Some of his paranoid freak-outs are great; he successfully pulls off scenes that could have easily been ineffective if done by a lackluster actor. But he goes all-in to this role, a role which is not only disturbing but sometimes transcendent. The rest of the cast only truly appear in the dream-like fervor that Max is constantly in, except for his mentor, played by a magnificent Mark Margolis. He is the one supporting character in the film that feels real, and though he feeds Max some of his ideas, he seems to be Max's only true link to reality.
The rest of the movie is a surprisingly meaningful excersize in the nature of paranoia. Though the film takes you through Max's drugged-up yet brilliant psyche, everything about his freak-outs ring true. His journal entries that often narrate the film are a very nice addition to the sometimes incomprehensible action, which is sometimes confusing, but just press PAUSE and rewind once and you'll get it. There are so many subtleties to the movie that one viewing just isn't enough...you really have to watch, and you will not be disappointed.
The scenery is amazing, mostly occuring in his small confined apartment and in the subway station, but both places just ooze a sense of caustraphobia and paranoia. The creation of the computer itself is an amazing feat, and its strange and intricate wiring almost bring to mind all the ducts from Brazil. One of the strangest things, to me, was the processor, elevated above the rest of the workings in a glass case. It was just so profound to me for some reason...but then again, a lot of aspects of this film were.
I have heard a lot of references to "Midnight Cinema" in the discussion of this movie...I have not seen Eraserhead yet, but I plan to very shortly, because apparently that is the masterpiece of the genre. And it seriously must be amazing if its better than Pi. The black-and-white camera is utilized to outstanding effect, because it gives the entire movie a very strange and foreboding vibe.
While I'm not a huge fan of math, the concepts introduced by the film (though farfetched) were extremely interesting. I found myself just as intrigued by these concepts as by the trippy occurences happening throughout them. I have really been noticing a lot of spirals in everyday life now, which is really freaking me out a little bit...I feel like I'm going to come home one day to snot-like goo bursting out of my computer.
Pi is a new addition to my favorite films...now I'm going to go suck it up and re-watch Requiem and see if I like it more.
"When I was a little kid my mother told me not to stare into the sun. So once when I was six, I did."