Aronofsky's tale of obsession and mathematical patterns

Rating: 8/10 (27 June 2012)

Pi is definitely one of the most remarkable achievements in the world of indie productions. On such a low budget (mere 60 thousand dollars) Darren Aronofsky was able to create an intelligent, engaging, mathematically overflowing movie that stands out in comparison to all the blockbusters that came out in 1998.
It is a thorough study of madness and chaos, two strategically opposing matters, yet so closely connected in the film's storyline. The main character believes that when he will finally discover and establish a special pattern, which can be found in nature, he will be able to control simply anything, and the pure reason for our existence will be revealed. It's a risky game, where there are only rights and wrongs, nothing in between.
The main character – Maximilian Cohen – is an obsessive-compulsive, frightened, and detached from community, man. He barricades himself from the world in his own apartment, filled with computers. His mind is gradually imploding, due to reoccurring headaches and paranoid visions that attack him in various, random moments. His only friend is an old mathematician, a mentor, with whom he plays a fantastic Japanese game called Go (the sequences remind me of the thrilling book 'The Master of Go' by Yasunari Kawabata).
Max's problems begin when two groups try to seduce him, in order to acquire a bit of that genius, which lies inside his troubled mind: A Wall Street firm on one side, and Hasidic Jews on the other. He is looking for a 216-digit number, which will bring enormous wealth for the former, and shine a new light on the understanding of religion for the latter.
The film is shot in a very unconventional manner, mostly in black and white (kind of a neo-noir feel), with the use of a, so-called, chestcam (camera attached to the body of an actor), which improves the connection between the character's actions and the viewer's perception of them. Great music only increases the pace and plays very well with the scenes of precise mathematic divagations.
Even though the movie's storyline is strictly connected to the brilliant mathematic ideas and notions, it can be certainly called a thriller. Max is in danger all the time, risking his precious mind in order to pursue an obsession. He can't trust anyone, as the people surrounding him don't care about him as a person, but only about what's in his head. He becomes angrier and angrier every minute, and gradually creates his own demise.
Pi is Aronofsky's fantastic debut, and a movie that through the complicated (but easy to follow for the regular viewer) mathematical problems and expressions is able to depict a tragic story about mental obsession. I would recommend it to anyone, whether a math geek or a theoretical newbie.