Visual Orgasm

Rating: 7/10 (10 December 2012)

As aesthetically stunning as its trailers suggests, Ang Lee's "Life of Pi" (or, as I call it, "Indian Castaway") is no doubt the work of the most impressive cinematography/director duo of the year. In saying that, while visually Lee makes the meat of this adaptation sing, like many critics have stated before me, not every great novel (which Yann Martel's "Life of Pi" is) can be translated into a fully entertaining piece of cinema; no matter how talented the director, or how faithful Lee's vision of "Life of Pi" actually is.
The Plot: If you haven't read the book, "Life of Pi" tells the story of a young man that goes by the nickname Pi, whose family owns a zoo in India. Events (concerning taxes or something) cause his family, including all of the animals, to relocate to Canada, via huge freighter. But when they run into a storm, that leaves Pi stranded on a lifeboat, in the middle of the ocean, with a zebra, a hyena, an orangutan and a Bengal tiger named RICHARD PARKER, his chances of survival look grim at best. But wait, Pi is narrating the film, so he had to have made itright? OK, to tell you the truth, I was rather bored for the initial 30 minutes, which consisted of 100% conversational exposition. But when the storm happens, everything changes. It isn't until the story moves out onto the water that it begins to take on the visual form that audiences paid for. And during this massive section, Lee doesn't disappoint, creating nearly an hour and a half of mind-blowing, million dollar visuals (at times it is hard to tell what is real and what is computer generated) with an understated suspenseful atmosphere throughout, that will have audiences on the edge of their seats for most of it.
And now for the bad stuff (when pertaining to the adaptation aspect): When I initially read the novel back in high school, the religiously curious, philosophical and man vs. man aspects that the character of Pi is infatuated with in the first part of the novel, reads much better than anything David Magee's screenplay or Lee could combine to manifest on screen; through no fault of their own. But maybe the most standout issue with adapting a book like "Life of Pi" arises when sitting down and actually watching this film's resolution. This final ten minutes, taken from (in my opinion) the most intriguing portion of the novel, will come across to a viewing audience as less morbidly engaging, and more lackluster and kid friendly than those who read the book might expect. But then again, I am not reviewing the book, am I? Side Note: I should also make it a point to say that, because a majority of "Life of Pi" is a one man show, Suraj Sharma, who plays Pi, should get tons of credit for pulling off a rather impressive performance. A performance that will surely be taken for granted because of what Lee pulls off behind the camera.
Final Thought: I can't state enough how the monumentally impressive visuals here have laid down the gauntlet for all future CGI based films. So, if the CGI is the only reason you came to see "Life of Pi", you won't be disappointed, as this is clearly the most visually gratifying film of the year, with visuals that will undoubtedly lead to an Oscar nomination for best picture. Yes, some of the sequences come off as slow, the ending, while faithful to the source material, seems more like a cop-out than anything, and at times Lee asks audiences for a suspension of belief that they may not be willing to give, but with a movie that holds its award worthy visuals paramount, "Life of Pi" is (for the most part) an entertaining success and worth seeing.
Written by Markus Robinson, Edited by Nicole I. Ashland
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