No budget masterpiece!

Rating: 8/10 (4 July 2006)

Shot on a microscopic budget, this debut feature from Darren Arnofsky is an audacious, and superbly conceived sci-fi thriller. As is fairly obvious within it's history this is a genre that is particularly difficult to get right, with far more failures than successes. PI is a film that is intelligent, engaging, and shot for virtually nothing, while big bucks are often spent on poorly written drivel.
Arnofsky's little masterpiece is filmed in black and white and the film is beautifully shot. The camera movements and the editing are very effective and really this film looks and feels fairly unique. Indeed the storyline itself is truly original and in this age of sequels, adaptations and remakes it's oft the case that we must trawl back through cinema of years gone by to find unique films we have yet to see. PI is delightfully such a case. Revolving around a loner, paranoid, maths genius called Max (Sean Gullette), the film portrays a character unlike what we have seen, yet believable. Inflicted with paranoia and hypochondria, Max lives in near total isolation, popping pills, avoiding the outside world where possible and constantly studying numbers, looking for patterns. As he begins to unravel certain numerical patterns, he finds himself the centre of previously non existent, attention. Max is psychologically unbalanced and the film follows him beyond breakdown, while he also tires to fend off his sudden popularity.
Certainly this is a film that will provoke discussion and multiple theories, as the best of this genre should do. Still aside from an excellent script this features a pulsating score and soundtrack and also some excellent performances, particularly Gullette whose portrayal of Max is raw and at times brilliant. This is a film I took far too long to get round to seeing but I'm glad I did. ****