3.14159265358979323846264338327950

I was asked to watch this film (Pi) for Film Studies, and I enjoyed it, even if it was a very strange film. Not necessarily a film that I would have picked up of the shelf an bought, but as I was asked to take it out from the film library at school I did watch it. Darren Aronofsky is a great director. Probably best known for his film Requiem for a Dream. However this, his 3rd film, is a good film. whilst not exactly about Pi, it does involve a mathematician, and his mentor did study Pi. I have to agree with Total Film’s description of the film, ‘Truly astonishing… truly unique.’. I was asked to place it into a genre, however this is a unique film. Maybe it is science fiction-thriller as it is described on the box. Yes it involves some technology, but not a lot, and being set on earth with no aliens etc. that are related with sci-fi, this seems a bit misleading to me. Thriller, maybe, to me it seems slightly horror-esque. The isolation of the main character, Max Cohen [Sean Gullette, Requiem for a Dream, The Day I Became a Man], the paranoia he suffers from. In the same way that Aronofsky presented the monster in the mind of the characters in RFAD, that appears to apply here.

The film itself centers around a man called Max Cohen, who is a great mathematician who believes that all things can be understood through numbers. He uses his computer to test this theory by attempting to predict the stock market. He is plagued with headaches that appear to be a result of him staring into the sun when he was six years old. He meets two groups of people who are interested in his research, and a certain number that he has in his mind. His paranoia leads to various hallucinations. A very interesting ending that I won’t ruin for anyone who plans to see the film, and I do recommend it.

A truly unique and enjoyable film that should interest a few people. On the 25th I shall be going to watch District B13, a French film, and will provide you with my opinions some time after then.

MTFBWY