Pi (1998)
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87% of critics liked it
(52 reviews) -
85% of users liked it
(100,493 ratings)
Darren Aronofsky scripted and made his directorial debut with this experimental feature with mathematical plot threads hinting at science-fictional elements. In NYC's Chinatown, recluse math genius Max (Sean Gullette) believes "everything can be understood in terms of numbers," and he… More Darren Aronofsky scripted and made his directorial debut with this experimental feature with mathematical plot threads hinting at science-fictional elements. In NYC's Chinatown, recluse math genius Max (Sean Gullette) believes "everything can be understood in terms of numbers," and he looks for a pattern in the system as he suffers headaches, plays Go with former teacher Sol Robeson (Mark Margolis), and fools around with an advanced computer system he's built in his apartment. Both a Wall Street company and a Hasidic sect take an interest in his work, but he's distracted by blackout attacks, hallucinations, and paranoid delusions. Filmed in 16mm black-and-white, the Kafkaesque film features music by Clint Mansell (of the UK's Pop Will Eat Itself band). Shown at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival where Aronofsky won the drama directing award. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi
- Directed By
- Darren Aronofsky
- Written By
- Darren Aronofsky
- Genres
- Drama, Action & Adventure, Mystery & Suspense, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Special Interest
- In Theaters
- Jul 10, 1998 Wide
- Studio
- Artisan
Critic Reviews
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Richard Corliss, TIME Magazine
Aronofsky, who has parlayed this movie's Sundance success into two Hollywood deals, is that rare indie filmmaker who doesn't want to make hip romantic sitcoms. He's a genuine experimenter with a spooky visual style.
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Trevor Johnston, Time Out
We share Max's feelings of imminent psychological disintegration as the film probes our own insecurity in the face of the eternal. Maths meets millennial doom in one of the decade's true originals.
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Dennis Harvey, Variety
It's remarkable to what extent Aronofsky has rendered the cerebral kinetically intense. The film's imaginative, diverse images create a mind's-eye urban claustrophobia.
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Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail
Audacious and bursting with ideas.
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Laura Miller, Salon.com
The movie's low-budget look neatly matches the claustrophobia of Max's life, but the filmmakers have also devised some special shooting methods for certain scenes. These sequences -- breathless and jangly chases, for the most part -- look terrific.
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Cast
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Sean Gullette
as Max Cohen
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Mark Margolis
as Sol Robeson
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Ben Shenkman
as Lenny Meyer
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Pamela Hart
as Marcy Dawson
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Stephen Pearlman
as Rabbi Cohen
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Samia Shoaib
as Devi
- Samia Shoaie
- Pam Hart
- Sean Guillette
- Ajay Naidu
- Joanne Gordon
- Kristyn Mae-Anne Lao



