# Pi (1998)

### reviewed by
Paul-Michael Agapow

    # [film] "Pi"
    A Postview, copyright 1999, P-M Agapow

Max, a reclusive mathematician (Gulette), sifts through the dataflow of the financial markets looking for a unifying pattern. His computers misbehave and break down, he suffers a series of terrifying psychotic attacks and two separate groups pursue him: a group of stockmarket brokers and an enigmatic clan of Talmudic scholars ...

"Pi" is possibly the best science-fiction film of the year. There are those who might argue that it isn't SF - hair-splitting in my opinion - but even then, "Pi" is possibly the best psychological thriller of the year. Loopy, paranoid, daring and unnerving, it may herald the arrival of a major new directing talent.

It is also another entry in the extremely low budget film stakes. (To get the tried cliches out of the way: "young filmmaker ... couldn't get backing ... shoestring budget ... masterpiece ... one in the eye for Hollywood ... blah, blah ...") To my mind, this is both irrelevant and important for the movie viewer. Relevant, because (of course) budget does have an impact on the look and effectiveness of the final problem. Although director Aronofsky makes excellent use of washed out B&W footage and found locations, at times the jerky camera and shadows conspire to make the action hard to see. Conversely, low budget films are important for they stand in contrast to the resource gobbling Hollywood behemoths, and remind us of all the films that aren't getting made because of ridiculous budgets and star salaries. (Is "Titanic" 2000 times better than "Pi"? Is "Out of Sight" 20 times better than "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels"?).

Max's beliefs are not so far removed from those scientists working in complex systems, and the Platonic idealism of Roger Penrose and Paul Davies. (Indeed, some years ago a group of complexity theorists set up a company to look for and exploit patterns in the stockmarket.) Maths is pure, maths is reality. Everything happens because of maths. If only life was like maths, predictable and comprehendible. If only we could understand the maths of life ... Max is a king in his own world but, like so many savants, at a disadvantage outside of it. At the mercy of mental illness, tormented by the sounds of lovemaking coming through the thin walls of his apartment, frustrated by fallible hardware, he tries to extend maths to rule over the rest of the world. It's a intense portrayal of a paarnoid and claustrophobic life. And thankfully the script has the courage to avoid portraying Max as a freak genius. Although maths is easy to him, we see him working at it, spending his life trying to understand and grasping for the big questions. I can't think of another movie that has had the guts to portray science as long hard work. Actually, "Pi" may be the one of the most scientifically hip movies to ever be made. There are passing references to childhood experiments with potatoes and iodine, antfarms, the golden ratio and cellular automata. Perhaps I speak from a biased perspective, but it's great to see these things acknowledged.

There are those who would argue the premise of "Pi" is ludicrous. (Here I must be circumspect to avoid giving away the plot.) Mileage will vary of course, and towards the end "Pi" starts going off the deep end, but this argument seems a little churlish to me. Did people really expect a movie to suggest a plausible and revolutionary discovery in mathematics? All science fiction "fakes it" to make a story work, which it will as long as the lies are consistent and not too outrageous.

The cast asides from Max do well, from the his tormented teacher (Margolis) to his his sensual neighbour (Shoaib). A driven and compelling movie, "Pi" is good value on every level. [****/mustsee] and a childhood electronics kit on the Sid and Nancy scale.

    "Pi"
    Released 1998.
    Directed by Darren Aronofsky.
    Written by Darren Aronofsky & Sean Gullette
    Starring Sean Gullette,  Mark Margolis, Samia Shoaib.

-- Paul-Michael Agapow (p.agapow@ic.ac.uk), Biology, Imperial College "We were too young, we lived too fast and had too much technology ..."

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