Pi (1998)

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Pi Movie Review

Pi is a 1998 psychological thriller film directed by Darren Aronofsky and it is his film debut. It is such a strong, atmospheric film.

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“When I was a little kid,

my mother told me not to stare into the sun,

so when I was six, I did…“

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It is about a mathematician’s descent into madness and it uses its premise particularly well with many intriguing plot points. I really enjoyed the subject matter and the premise because they are quite unique and interesting and I loved how it explored the psychology of its protagonist. The problem here is that the second half is never as good as the first one owing to too many intense sequences that overtake the picture later on. But the ending is still really good and although weirdly positive, I still liked that as it was unexpected and well executed.

I liked the protagonist in Pi as Max is really well developed and he is such a troubled, tragic man. I enjoyed the emphasis on him as there aren’t that many other characters, but of the supporting characters, Sol is the highlight and I loved the relationship between the two.

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Unfortunately, the acting isn’t great. Sean Gullette is wonderfully cast for this role and is perfectly fine and serviceable for the most part, but is very mediocre in those more dramatic and intense moments as he didn’t sell me those scenes. As for the other actors, they are fine, but once again forgettable.

Pi is clearly influenced by the works of David Lynch and specifically his black-and-white features as the use of sound and photography is very reminiscent to those works. And I liked that as it is very suitable for this film tonally and visually. The sound effects are great and the score is quite solid. Yes, some of the score was too annoying to me, but it is well incorporated into those intense scenes.

Speaking of intense scenes, they are so well realized and blessed with for once great use of shaky camera that greatly contributes to its crazy feel. I loved those scenes, but the overabundance of them in the second half was problematic. Darren Aronofsky is such a good director and this is his first film and I really liked his first effort, though it isn’t one of his best.

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The black and white photography is really effective in this one. In fact, it is one of the best and most memorable modern black and white films as the film looks stunning and so atmospheric. This is such a visual feast for the eyes. The dialogue is also very good and I really appreciated how it isn’t condescending and too smart, but is mostly presented to a larger audience as it is easy to understand, mostly at least. The film is also a great mix of weird and psychological and although it isn’t that well paced, it is mostly an engaging and intriguing to watch movie.

I also liked how it isn’t emotionally distant as these films usually are. It isn’t too emotional, but some scenes are quite well realized in terms of emotion and I liked how the film dealt with its themes with paranoia in particular being very well explored and dramatically depicted. Overall, Pi isn’t great as it is pretty flawed in too many aspects, but it is mostly an unexpectedly good, atmospheric early flick from the director and such an original, memorable film too.