Pi

Pi

Starring Sean Gullette, Mark Margolis, Ben Shenkman, Pamela Hart

Directed by Darren Aronofsky

The Story:
Max Cohen (Sean Gullette) is a mathematical genius who believes in three things: mathematics is the language of the universe, nature can be expressed in numbers, and there are patterns everywhere in nature.  If he can find that mathematical equation, he can unlock the secrets of the universe - the existence of God, life itself, and how to become rich.

Max is also a loner who suffers from debilitating headaches, and only confides in his old professor Sol (Mark Margolis), until he meets Hasidic Jew Lenny (Ben Shenkman), who wants Max to uncover the secret name of God through an intricate 216-digit number.  Max is also hounded by Marcy Dawson (Pamela Hart), a Wall Street agent who wants to use Max to predict the Stock Market, and resorts to violence and stalking to get what she wants.  Max finds not just his physical life in danger, but more importantly his mind, as he relentlessly pursues the truth in numbers that threatens his own sanity.

The Synopsis:
Darren Aronofsky is a prolific director who's graced the big screen with such mind-altering films like "Requiem for a Dream," "Black Swan," and "Mother," but it's his first feature film debut that introduced the world to his wonderful madness.  "Pi" is a unique film in that the psychological drama takes place inside the mind of one genius who seemingly has uncovered the truth to everything - but can his finite mind handle the infinite?

The mind of a genius is something of intrigue - even Einstein's brain was removed and studied for what made him the genius he was - in that it seems almost impossible to understand how one person can handle so much information.  A genius is often reclusive, paranoid, and suffers great pain in pursuit of ultimate knowledge, and Aronofsky brilliantly portrays all these pitfalls in "Pi" with our protagonist, Max.

Max is not your typical person, as he suffers from a myriad of issues - paranoia, hallucinations, social anxiety disorder - but it's his cluster headaches that cause him the most pain.  Affecting only about 0.1% of the population, this type of headache is also known as suicide headaches because it's so painful it sometimes leads the sufferer to commit suicide.  Max has been suffering from these headaches since he was six when - and he mentions this several times in the film - he disobeyed his mother's instructions and stared at the sun.

Now a number theorist, Max lives in his small apartment and works with a high maintenance computer system he calls Euclid to discover number sequences in the Stock Market, as well as using numbers to uncover the existence of reality.  It's this pursuit that makes him a hunted man by both religious scholars and market tycoons who want what's inside his brain for their own goals - to know the true identity of God, and to become filthy rich.  Max doesn't care about any of that - he just wants to find the pattern of existence, and through his research he feels like he's accomplished that in the identity of a 216-digit numerical sequence.

Is Max a genius or a madman?  That question isn't fully explained, and it's not that cut-and-dry.  Aronofsky not only directed but penned the script, and uses a unique form of filming known as black-and-white reversal film to give the sensation of insanity and instability throughout the film, as we see Max himself slowly delve into madness and instability in his own life.  He suffers wild hallucinations, and the musical score swells to moments of sheer irritation to help us experience what Max is experiencing, and makes us wonder if it's really worth being a genius if it means receiving the negative ramifications of such.  Ultimately, the search for order and resolution of chaos itself is a study of chaos and disorder, which may be the purpose of existence itself.

The Summary:
Showcasing a brilliant mind and a unique filming style, Darren Aronofsky's first film "Pi" is a deep character study into the mind of a man bent on finding the order in everything, and suffering the disorder of searching for it.

The Score: A+