Alone with a tiger in the middle of the Pacific

Rating: 9/10 (10 December 2014)

This story opens with a writer visiting our protagonist; an Indian named Pi. He wants to hear the story of how Pi survived alone on a lifeboat after a shipwreck; Pi corrects himÂ… he wasn't alone he had Richard Parker for company. As Pi introduces his story we learn how he got his name, his unusual 'multi-faith' belief system and most importantly we learn that Richard Parker is an adult Bengal Tiger! His father runs a zoo in their hometown but when it looks like they can't continue running it he decides to emigrate to Canada with his family and the animals. Shortly after entering the Pacific Pi goes on deck to watch a storm then Pi finds himself thrown into a lifeboat as the ship starts to sink. He isn't alone; part of the menagerie is with himÂ… an injured zebra, an orang-utan and a vicious hyena. The hyena soon kills the zebra and orang-utan then the previously unseen tiger erupts from under a canvass and kills the hyena; it then turn its attention to Pi. He gets out of its reach and constructs a raft so he can keep away from the creature. Over the course of the film he comes to realise that Richard Parker's presence is keeping him saneÂ… while never forgetting he is still on the menu!
This film was a delight. Even though we know Pi must survive to tell his tale there are plenty of tense moments and I was genuinely concerned for Pi's safety. For most of the film we are just watching Pi and the tiger; this works because both characters are so believableÂ… perhaps a little surprising when one knows the tiger didn't existÂ… it is however the best CGI I've seen; it is hard to believe it isn't real. Suraj Sharma, who plays Pi, does a great job convincing us that he is on a small boat in the middle of the ocean with a tiger. The whole film looks great; at times it takes on an almost dream like quality as the boat is becalmed on a mirror flat sea and when the sea lights up thanks to bioluminescent plankton. Some may find the ending a bit of a cop out as it appears that much of what we have seen didn't actually happen; an alternate scenario is presented and, as Pi says, the viewer must decide which story they prefer.