Remembering Pi

In most markets, The Wrestler, Darren Aronofsky’s newest film is coming out. He’s a very interesting director and with The Wrestler, he’s getting a lot of attention. To honor his new film, Killer Film takes a retrospective look at his career starting with Pi.

Jon: 

I came to Pi a little late. I was in college and every time I went to my buddy’s house, his roommate and I would start talking about films. He always brought up Pi. He said if I enjoyed a “thinking man’s” movie, one that would challenge me, I should check it out. After a few more parties, Pi just kept getting brought up. It intrigued me. How could I have missed a smart sci-fi film? I had seen the cover at Best Buy, this big red Pi symbol against the black background and it always stopped my eye, but I just never came around to it.

I caught Aronofsky’s second film Requiem for a Dream and his visual style impressed me, along with his handling of the downfall of those characters. With my buddy’s roommate’s recommendation, I caught a sale at Best Buy.  I believe Pi was really cheap, like $5 or something, so I bought it. After a week or two of it sitting on my desk, I opened it and watched it one night after work. 

My friend’s room mate was right. It’s brilliant, thought-provoking, and stunning in this weird, off-beat way. There’s really nothing like Pi, a film about a mathematician who is trying to find a numerical code within the stock market that is bringing him to the brink of insanity. His goal was to find a way to cheat the market and make some big money; he unfortunately finds a code of greater importance: the numerical name of God. His work finds him the center of attention, one side, an aggressive Wall Street firm and the other a Kaballah sect. 

Aronofsky handles the theme and tension beautifully. Maximilian (Sean Gullette) is going insane. Some have compared Aronofsky’s skill to David Cronenberg. Both have sure hands, at least with this film, both have dabbled in science fiction, but for me the parallel is drawn between Cronenberg and Maximilian’s lust for knowledge, which shapes him into someone new. Cronenberg is known for films about the flesh and the transformation of it; whether it is from science or psychosis, and here I’d say Aronofsky channels it. Both have become different directors, but at least here the association is warranted. 

If you haven’t caught Pi, I would recommend doing so now. I haven’t talked too much about the story, because I feel for once, going into a film (like Pi) blindly is to your own advantage. Stark imagery, a fascinating concept and story, I personally wish I was the one who discovered it. Thanks to my buddy, the film has a permanent spot in my DVD (soon-to-be Blu Ray) collection.

Donny:

I first heard about Pi in MovieMaker Magazine.  I remember reading about the flick and thinking that it looked pretty interesting.  I’m a fan of black and white cinema, and I’m an even bigger fan of filmmakers that do whatever it takes to make their vision come to life.  And Aronofsky is the type of filmmaker that makes his films on his own terms.  So after reading the article I tracked down a copy of the flick and rushed home to check out the goods.  

After watching the movie I was slightly confused about the way I was feeling.  Pi was my introduction to arthouse cinema, I’d never seen anything quite like it before.  I had seen films by David Lynch that pushed the limits of what could actually be called cinema.  Although I hadn’t seen a film like Pi that actually worked within the realm of traditional cinema, but took chances, broke rules, and challenged viewers.  It was an amazing experience watching this movie that had solid writing, and a beautiful visual style made by a filmmaker that doesn’t dilute his vision for monetary gain.  A filmmaker that tests the limits of his audience’s intelligence, yet still manages to tell an intriguing story.  

At its core Pi is nothing more than a movie about a guy trying to put one over on the stock market.  A mathematician looking for patterns in the market’s numbers.  Only somewhere along the way he looses himself in his work, and starts to struggle with reality. Aronofsky challenges his audience, but he cares about them as well.  He makes works of art the everyone can enjoy.  He’s able to somehow combine the fantastic with traditional movie conventions, and make something completely unique. Pi is a great example of how cinema can be more than just entertainment, yet still be entertaining.