This movie is about . . . what?

Rating: 8/10 (5 April 2007)

Interesting commenters' split here: is this movie about math or about painfully rare ways of understanding reality? Count me among those who understand "Pi" as a movie about mental illness, one of the 2 or 3 best ever made. I won't disagree w/ the folks who say it's about math or mathematicians, but it sure wasn't for me. I gained no new mathematical insights fr/ this film, but I did get weeks' & acres' worth of different new ways to consider how scary and difficult life must be for folks who do not apprehend the world as I (and I think most of us) do.
One other thing this movie was about? Ben Shenkman's acting genius! I saw "Pi" when it was first released - in an art house, duh - and years later, after watching "Angels in America" on HBO, I was belatedly blown away when someone pointed out to me that Louis was the Guy from Pi. His range leaves me speechless. If Brando and Olivier were still here, they'd be jealous.