Confusing plot + irritating presentation = a very long 90 min.

Rating: 2/10 (28 April 2010)

I watched Pi as part of a film making class for school. As much as I tried, I simply could not get into this movie. I know it's hailed as a great indie film and has a cult following, but I didn't enjoy it.
The plot revolves around a mathematician named Max. Max is convinced that everything in nature is governed by math and, therefore, predictable. He takes this theory and does considerable research into the stock market, trying to see if he can predict it. On some level, he succeeds and attracts some people who wish to exploit this knowledge for personal gain (one is a businesswoman of some sort looking to use this information for money, the other is a group of Jews trying to find answers about God). To add to his troubles, Max suffers from recurring, very intense headaches.
I wish I could say I know all this from my actual viewing, but I can't. The fact is, this movie is so confusing it's very hard to tell what's going on at any given point. This doesn't sink the film for me, though. I've sat through and enjoyed many films that were very confusing. What sinks this film for me is the visual style. The movie is shot in black and white due to the lack of funding and whatnot. This gives the film a very gritty look. On top of that is the soundtrack, which is very unpleasant (especially during his headache sequences because of a loud, high pitched screech that plays). All of this coupled with the disturbing and paranoid nature of the script makes for a very uncomfortable experience. For some, this may work, but not for me. These two factors (confusing script and irritating audio/visual style) led me to hate this film roughly 20 minutes into it. One another thing to mention is that many of the low light situations look horrible and add to the confusion.
I relate watching this movie to having someone read me a story while someone else continually slaps me in the face. I wouldn't be able to focus on the story (the plot of Pi) because I was being continuously slapped in the face (the film's presentation). I get that this film is not for everyone and it's clearly not for me. Many out there enjoy this film and that's great. I did not. I might recommend this around Halloween because of the disturbing nature of the film, but other than that, I don't foresee me viewing this movie again.