note : some may consider portions of the following text to be spoilers . be forewarned . among my fanatical ticker tape - worshipping friends , there 's one who happens to share the same philosophy espoused by the central character in darren aronofsky 's darkly original pi : the entire stock market can be reduced to nothing but a series of patterns which , through analysis , will produce information to accurately forecast future behaviour .
( an example of the mentality involved : if the stock price goes up like this , and then down like that , and then sharply up this way , it then will go * this * way . )
while i freely admit that i know less than nothing about the market ( knowledge check :
prices up -- good ; prices down -- bad ; most of the time , at least ) and hence really could n't comment with any authority , it 's always nonetheless struck me as an incredibly naive oversimplification of an astonishingly complex system ( and besides , if it were that simple , no doubt somebody would 've already figured it all out ) .
the difference in this case is that while my colleague ( an otherwise assuredly realistic individual ) truly believes in this in and of itself as a valid forecaster , pi uses this ideology as a device with which to investigate its character 's psychosis .
it 's also vastly more convincing with its argument .
"
mathematics is the language of the universe , " insists genius protagonist maximillian cohen ( sean gullette ) in a cool , mantra - like voice - over which repeats throughout the picture .
since nature can be expressed in numbers , and there are patterns everywhere in nature , he reasons with eminent logic that finding the patterns will allow him to predict anything -- the ups and downs of the stock market , how many games the yankees will win this year , the flavour of jam i 'm going to put on my toast tomorrow morning .
obsessed with finding the proverbial key to the universe , max lives in paranoid , self - imposed solitude in a seedy nyc chinatown apartment , single - mindedly toiling away with his monstrous homemade computer system .
sullenly withdrawn and plauged by debilitating migraines , the elusive pursuit of a mysterious 216-digit number his machine spits out one day is driving him into madness .
the story , then , is basically an eccentricity , but it 's a clever , astute eccentricity , perceptively zeroing in on the modern mistrust of mathematical reductionism ; in an age where a dominant societal phobia is one 's individualism being replaced by a series of numeric identifiers , max 's all - consuming penchent for numbers at once creates a lingering , unsettling mood .
it helps matters that he 's not a particularly likable protagonist .
all attempts of friendliness from neighbours are curtly rebuffed by max , a spindly , neurotic - looking individual who has n't the time to indulge in pleasantries .
for a film which puts its lead character front and center ( mr .
gullette appears in virtually every scene ) , pi takes a refreshing and effective approach in avoiding conventional aesthetics ; because of our ambivalence with max , we 're not so much avidly rooting for him to triumph with a moment of epiphany as we 're following him through this plot with a sense of mixed dread and morbid fascination -- it 's more disturbing journey than quest .
still , we do care about max 's fate .
teetering on the edge of dementia , he winds up being pursued by two different groups which want to pick his brain , both fronted by deliciously perky , resolutely cheerful representatives with inevitably duplictious intentions .
as we know , in films where paranoia is a dominant element ( see the truman show 's laura linney character ) , or for that matter , in real life , it 's always the ones who never stop smiling at you and are overly friendly that are the ones of which to be wary .
pi , a film that addresses patterns
, itself intentionally adheres to an identifiable pattern cycle -- headache scene ; important revelation or bit of plot development ; pill - popping montage ; hallucinatory nightmare ( with decidedly cronenberg - esque undertones -- few other directors are as equally adept in bridging unsettling concepts and body - themed horror ) ; nosebleeding reality .
the repetitiveness , far from being tedious , is effectively maddening ; more than anything , the picture aims to get under our skins and take in events from max 's claustrophobic perspective .
in this regard , it wildly succeeds due to mr .
aronofsky 's striking direction .
it 's a rarity that a film so completely immerses itself into a protagonist 's warped perspective of his surrounding , and high contrast black - and - white cinematography combined with constant usage of extreme close - ups lend a heightened sense of paranoia to the proceedings .
( in some scenes , the stark composition in conjunction with the lumbering approach by mr .
gullette make his character curiously resemble a latter - day max schreck , from nosferatu . ) using savage , jittery lensing and rapid cuts to create a sense of disorientation , the picture is often dizzying to behold , and max 's effective isolationism is emphasized by shots from the so - called snorri cam , which keep him in plain focus while the environment races by in blurred bursts .
pi 's raw , aggressive visuals are reminiscent of david lynch 's early work ( in particular , eraserhead ) .
the film 's sinister tone splashes onto the screen immediately with a dazzling opening credit sequence ably backed by a sly electronic score by clint mansell , and gradually increases in intensity .
still , amidst all its kafkaesque qualities and overall dispassionate mood , pi does occasionally display a sense of humour .
at one point , marcy dawson ( pamela hart , great fun ) entices max with the offer of an invaluable treasure : a one - of - a - kind . . .
computer chip .
" is n't it beautiful , " she coos .
a showcase for mr .
aronofsky 's technical virtuosity ( made for $ 60 000
, it 's since gone on to capture acclaim at the 1998 sundance film festival ) , pi is an intriguingly cerebral story which , ironically , is perhaps the most purely visceral film of the year .
does occasionally display a sense of humour it 's a clever , astute eccentricity , perceptively zeroing in it wildly succeeds due to mr . aronofsky 's striking direction takes a refreshing and effective approach also vastly more convincing technical virtuosity a dazzling opening credit sequence ably backed by a sly electronic score by clint mansell , and gradually increases in intensity an intriguingly cerebral