Pi - 1998
Artisian
Pictures / Lions Gate
Rated: USA: PG-13 |
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I adore movies like this.
Not because it is shot in black and white (I labor under no such ridiculous snobberies). But because of its subject
matter, and the way it handles that subject matter. It is not neccessary
that bizzare horror be shot in black and white. David Lynch did just as
well with LOST HIGHWAY as he did with ERASERHEAD. Pi has been compared
to ERASERHEAD, but the resemblance is minimal. Take away the fact that
they are both shot in black and white (a very sharp,
high contrast black and white for Pi), and you have little to no
resemblance at all. Enough comparative views between the two.
Pi is a far more intelligent film. Not simply because of its subject matter; it would have been easy enough to throw out a load of technobabble and gizmos to try to come across as intelligent.
Pi is the real deal.
The protagonist is Max Cohen (actor/writer/website designer: Sean Gullette). He belongs to that rare breed of human who is obsessed with numbers. We are not talking about the Feynmans and Hawkings of the
world; but a much purer breed; and no idiot savants here either. So consumed
are these number crunchers with their passion, attempting to explain the
Universe in mathematical terms, that they exclude all else. Little human
contact, poor diet, and a tendency to powerful headaches. In Max's case
it all began when, as a child, he stared at the sun for too long. He went
blind. His eyesight eventually returned, but left him color blind. Without
color in his world, his logic became black and white, and began the
obsessive-compulsive craving for calculations.
Among such great mathemeticians is the belief that somehow, someway, you can find
mathematical patterns, definite number series within everything.
Everything
Every organic and non-organic form and beyond. You can predict random circumstances
because, according to this way of thinking, nothing happens by random
chance. Chaos is only perceived through misconception.
Up to a point, these human calculators are correct: but there are no simple formulas
for calculating multiple interactions in a time and space frame, no unique
"code".
Such calculations are staggering.
The path Max has chosen for himself is an obvious dead end. Max believes that he
can discover the formula, or numerical "key" that will unravel
the mystery of the stock market. Once he is able to accurately predict
the fluctuations of the entire stock market, then he can predict the universe.
The stock market is his acid test. He chose this arena because the stock
market deals in calculations created by humans. Figure out the organic
interactive calculations of humanity within their defined quality of producing
profit, thinking state, and you will discover, behind that thinking, the
engine which drives us all and everything.
Or so Max believes.
The failure in this, of course, is that he is trying to understand humanity by looking
only at its foot prints. Like the fable of the blind men who each feel
a different part of the elephant, Max can come up with one small truth
that will not fit into the framework of the whole picture. In Max's case,
he purposefully blinds himself to the big picture by trying to maintain
total solitude in order to dedicate himself to his task. He refuses to interact with the humanity he attempts to understand.
In the apartment building where Max lives are people that are interested in him, like his
neighbor Devi (Samia Shoaib: THE SIXTH SENSE), want to engage him and welcome him into their lives.
He fears them. They take him away from his work. He is trying to find the key to
life while isolating himself from it. Like anthropologists who will
only study books; never to dirty their hands in the field.
The only human interaction he has is with his former Math Professor Sol (Mark Margolis: SCARFACE, TALES FROM THE DARKSIDE: The Movie, THE PIT AND THE PENDULUM). "A man," Max claims, "Who nearly made
it."
By "making it" Max means that his former teacher nearly discovered
the secret number, the Key to the door or engine by which the entire
universe is run.
Max's genius with numbers is not lost behind a bushel. A mysterious corporation represented
by a woman named Marcy Darcman (Pamela Hart),
has people spying on him. They practically force him to cooperate with
their schemes. They know that someday the market will crash and they believe Max may be able to predict when. In addition to Max's mind he has
also created a home-made supercomputer that he named after the famous
Mathematician, Euclid.
What's more, a pushy hasidic Jew named Lenny (Ben Shenkman)
is trying to garner Max's interest in the Hebrew lettering system. All
Hebrew letters, in addition to spelling words, also have a numerical value.
A very specific cult of Hasidic Jews believe that there are 216 numbers
which, when properly pronounced, is the name of God. They too, believe
Max can reveal the answer to their quest.
As these two forces combine with Max's obsessions, his screamingly severe migranes
begin to close in on him. Max is losing his mind. The closer he gets to
solving his riddle, the more intense the pain becomes, until he is lost
in a world of pain and paranoia.
Does your brain hurt yet?
This is no cheesy psycho-killer-hacking-teenagers flick. This is deep
seated horror that goes right into the very core of you. The fact that
someone was able to make a movie like this: that chiefly consists of watching
numbers being written on paper or moving across a computer while listening
to Max's inner monologue explain his compulsion to think, think, think;
and make it fiercly entertaining, is a monumental achievement.
Kudos go to Writer/Director Darren Aronofsky (Pi is his feature film debut) for making us understand the excitement and tension in what could have been a numbingly dry subject. Also attaboys
to first time feature film writer/producer Eric Watson. A movie like this
could have easily got lost among the direct-to-video bins, instead of
winning awards at the Sundance Film Festival. Mathew Labatique (Director
of Photography: Director for Tupac Shakur and Bootsy Collins music videos)
gave us the nerve wracking, high wire tension throughout the film with
his use of lighting and camera angles.
Make no mistake,
this movie is weird and requires a thoughtful mind from the viewer. If
movies like BLADE RUNNER, BRAZIL, JACOB'S
LADDER, Fresh, and DARK CITY is
your meat, then you are ready for Pi.
This movie well deserves its 4 ShriekGirls.
This review
copyright 1999 E.C.McMullen Jr.
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