Pi

Grand existential truths, wrapped up in seemingly indecipherable mathematical equations. And in a spectacular display of filmmaking. By combining black-and-white images and penetrating sounds, Darren Aronofsky works wonders, just as he did in Requiem for a Dream. (01/02/2004)

What Aronofsky started here, he later perfected in Requiem for a Dream. While the directorial invention here falls far short of the quality of his later work, it gives a hint of the direction Darren Aronofsky's work would take. Once again, a very compelling theme, this time about the boundary between genius and the pursuit of knowledge that turns into uncontrollable madness, is wrapped in a nerve-wracking atmosphere through which the viewer is introduced to the shaky and ever-worsening psychological state of the protagonist. 85% (27/08/2009)

Darren Aronofsky's first film didn't sit well with me, which I blame on the excessive amount of mathematical phenomena, numbers and whatnot. It's admittedly a pretty flimsy excuse that can barely compensate for my (by local standards) low rating, but I take Pi as a warm-up and a gateway to other depressing films by the director – in fact, I found many elements and scenes here that also appear in Requiem for a Dream and Black Swan, for example. The cinematography is great, as is the editing, the sound and the properly grainy-black-depressing image. In short, a film I probably wouldn't watch a second time, but I that certainly don’t want to disparage, because it certainly has its artistic merit. (29/04/2011)

3.141592... Our school teacher claimed that math is fun - but, as Aronofsky proves here in this stylized rollercoaster ride, she was lying, because math can make you go completely psycho. A very Lynch-style movie and, whether or not it corresponds to your taste in movies, it will certainly leave a deep impression in you. Primarily thanks to the extraordinarily portrayed atmosphere of paranoia (or whatever that feeling is called). While the viewer experience isn’t so intense throughout the movie, you will be haunted by Pi for a long time after. Probably for as long as it takes you to say the entire value of π. (23/07/2006)

I like self-destructive characters and Darren Aronofsky managed to write a script that presents such a character. It's clear from the beginning that it can't end well, but it doesn't matter, because there is a build-up, and it's incredible. Darren manages to capture the madness of the mind in an absolutely surreal way just by the way he uses the camera and editing. Moreover, black and white suits the film perfectly. This is definitely one of those debuts that are worth it. (18/04/2014)