History Film / PI

->''When I was a little kid, my mother told me not to stare into the sun.\\

That day, I had my first headache.''

''π'' (pronounced "pi") is a 1998 film that marked the directorial debut of Creator/DarrenAronofsky, who also wrote the film and co-created its story. Best described as a [[{{Surrealism}} surrealist]] PsychologicalThriller, the film was made for $135,000 and won a number of awards including the 1998 Sundance Film Festival award for Best Director. In his first film score work, the movie's electronic soundtrack was assembled by Music/ClintMansell, a future [[ProductionPosse long-time collaborator with Aronofsky]], who contributed the frenetic drum-and-bass theme.

-> '''1.''' Mathematics is the language of nature.
-> '''2.''' Everything around us can be represented and understood through numbers.
-> '''3.''' If you graph these numbers, patterns emerge.
-> Therefore: There are patterns everywhere in nature.

Shot in minimalist, high-contrast black and white, the film is very atmospheric with relatively little dialogue, and also [[MindScrew quite confusing]], to an overall effect that is often compared to ''Film/{{Eraserhead}}''[[note]]This is a comparison that Aronofsky doesn't personally fully agree with, as he stated [[https://aronofksy.tripod.com/interview29.html in one interview]][[/note]].

* AmbiguousDisorder: Max Cohen is never diagnosed, but he suffers from intensive social withdrawal, obsessive compulsiveness, chronic migraines, psychotic episodes, and possesses savant-like abilities in regards to mathematics (performing division on par with a pocket calculator).
* AnimalMotifs: Max finds ants as well as goo infesting his apartment after he loads it into his computer Euclid. A possible interpretation is that the number, [[spoiler: which is the blueprint for all creation,]] causes Euclid to begin creating simple organic matter. The goo and ants also fit into the themes of madness and decay that increasingly plague Max.
* AppliedPhlebotinum: The "Ming Mecca" computer chip that Dawson uses to bait Max, and provides Euclid the processing power to fully realize the number. Max is disbelieving that the firm can even provide it (because they're classified technology), but Dawson simply says [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections that the firm has plenty of connections.]]
* BigNo: Max gives one when he comes back from his apparent NearDeathExperience.

* BlasphemousBoast: The slogan of stock brokerage firm Lancet-Percy, boasting their 86% accuracy, is "only God is perfect". [[CorruptCorporateExecutive And they spend the film trying to obtain a number that will allow them to manipulate the market at will (making it an even hundred).]]
* BodyHorror: Subtle. A small, Hebrew-letter shaped lump appears in Max's head. This, and his headaches getting worse, [[spoiler: and Sol's two strokes,]] all imply that the number can literally mess with your head.

-->"When I was a little kid, my mother told me not to stare into the sun. So once when I was six, I did."

* CreatorThumbprint: The first of various Aronofsky films with an underlying theme of "obsession leading to destruction." It also says a lot about Aronofsky's films that this one, [[spoiler:in which the protagonist willfully (although ambiguously) ''drills a chunk of his brain off'', is the one with the most unambiguously happy ending so far.]]
* CombatPragmatist: Max prefers to run from Marcy Dawson's thugs but at one point, they chase him into a grocery store where he grabs a can of soup and uses it to mass effect.
* CoolOldGuy: Sol, Max's former teacher, mentor, and friend. As well as giving Max sage advice on getting on with life, not becoming obsessed with his work, and coaching him in Go (Japanese pebble game). [[spoiler: It's all but stated outright that Sol discovered the number long before Max did.]]
* CyberPunk: Max's apartment is taken up by a super computer so every scene at home has a ton of wires and machinery everywhere. The evil stock firm further tips it into this genre.
* CyberpunkIsTechno: By Music/ClintMansell (such as the film's theme / LeitMotif for Max) with contributions from other groups like Music/MassiveAttack. Their song "Angel" from ''Music/{{Mezzanine}}'' is used on the soundtrack.
* DeliberatelyMonochrome: And filmed in ultra-high contrast for added creepiness.
* DrivenToSuicide: Not "kill" suicide, but the effects of the number on Max's life and body drive him to destroy the part of him that matters to him the most -- a symbolic suicide. Before that, there is a lot of "computer melting down" and "self destruct" symbology (such as Euclid's literal self destruction because of the number [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything and Max putting his injector gun up to his head (to deliver an injection directly to the lump) while screaming obscenities (to his neighbours having sex next door, which he can hear and is driving him nuts, on top of his migraine's pain)]]).

* FaceCam: One of the more famous uses of the [=SnorriCam=], an Aronofsky trademark. The DVD contains some footage of a test run with Max in a convenience store.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: If asked why he stopped searching for patterns within the digits of pi, Sol (in most instances) reacts dismissively. After mentioning Euclid's "crash," Max begins to suspect this nonchalance has been [[DarkSecret deliberately misleading:]]
-->'''Max''': Just a long string of digits-
-->'''Sol''': How ''many?''
-->'''Max''': (shrugs) I don't know...
-->'''Sol''': (intense) What is it? A hundred and fifty, a thousand? [[{{Beat}} Uh,]] [[SayingTooMuch two hundred and sixteen?!]] How ''many?''
* FauxAffablyEvil: Marcy Dawson (the Lancet-Percy representative) first tries to swindle Max to help her stock prediction firm with cookie-cutter sweet talking and false smiling, which she completely ditches in her last scene, where she's putting a gun to Max's head to ''force'' him to comply.
* FormulaicMagic: Max's dogmatic treatment of math as "the language of nature" seems to push past "math is capable of explaining everything in existence" into "math ''determines'' our existence." [[spoiler: The effects of the number point to the latter.]]

* HackerCave: Euclid takes up the majority of Max's apartment. His landlady doesn't much like it.

* ImportantHaircut: Max shaves his head as things start going downhill. [[BodyHorror Of course, there's a reason he does it.]]
* InstantAIJustAddWater: What happens after Max connects the mysterious Ming-Mecca chip to [[CompanionCube Euclid]]: the extravagantly-cheap, lovingly-customized mainframe (threatening to overrun every square centimeter of Max's tiny fortress of an apartment). That is, if one can believe Sol--outwardly rationalistic, yet painfully aware of forbidden mysticism--when the former professor [[HandWave explains]] how the 216-digit number [[ItRunsOnNonsensoleum makes machines "aware of their silicon nature."]]

* {{Lobotomy}}: In the end, [[spoiler:Max lobotomizes himself with a power drill.]]

* MadMathematician: Max is already neurotic before he starts going insane from the number.

* MadnessMontage: The "hip-hop montages" of surreal imagery.
* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: Either the number really is connected to God and Max's insanity is due to some supernatural force, or the number is just a really complex equation that Max obsesses over to the point of insanity (and he's just lucky/unlucky enough to meet other people with a similar obsession). The climax counts as well since it could be literal or symbolic.
* MessyHair: Max, the [[MadMathematician reclusive math genius]]. His neighbor tries to adjust it, but he squirms away.
* MindScrew: ''The A.V. Club'' [[http://www.avclub.com/articles/pi,19384/ called it]] "like ''Film/{{Eraserhead}}'' re-envisioned by {{cyberpunk}} author Creator/WilliamGibson."
* MinimalisticCoverArt: Some posters (and covers of a few DVD versions) of the Darren Aronofsky film ''Film/{{Pi}}'' were this. All it showed is the ratio's mathematical symbol.
* MouthfulOfPi: Not strictly pi, but Max can do rather complicated arithmetic in his head. The opening credits do show pi itself counted out to thousands of numbers, but only the first 8 digits after the decimal point are correct.

* NonindicativeName: Neither the actual number π, nor what it represents (the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter), is important to the plot of this film at all.
* NumberObsession: Max Cohen is looking for a mathematical formula that will allow him to see the underlying pattern of the universe. He can perform complex mathematical calculations in his head. He's shown by a man named Lenny Meyer how the original Hebrew alphabet, which has alphanumeric value, could represent certain concepts mathematically, a concept known as Gematria, and suggests that the Torah is a code sent by God. It also coincides with a 216-digit number Max uncovered trying to write a program to unlock his theory, which another friend urges him to abandon, lest he become a mere numerologist. He's also pursued by aggressive representatives of a Wall Street firm that wants to use his mathematic formulae to decipher and predict stock prices. In the end, Max seems to find the secret he was looking for, which causes him to GoMadFromTheRevelation and he performs trepanation [[note]]drilling a hole in one's head[[/note]] for a form of LaserGuidedAmnesia.

* RageAgainstTheReflection: The climax involves Max [[spoiler: drilling a hole through his head while looking into his bathroom mirror.]]
* ReligionIsMagic: Played straight and subverted in equal measure. The Kabbalistic Jews know about the universal number, and it is related to the Torah, but they are unable to discover it themselves. In the end, they are no closer to it than a stockbroking firm.
* RightThroughTheWall: Max can hear his neighbor having sex with her boyfriend right through the wall of his apartment. Not played for laughs however; at the same time Max is obsessively working on his computer to pursue the universal number, emphasizing how detached he is from everyday life.
* RuleOfSymbolism: Ants (as in "buggy" computers and decay), the slime (Euclid's decay, same as Max), numbers (especially the Golden Ratio-[[MadMathematician duh]]), brains (hallucinations leading to insanity [[spoiler: and self-trepanation]]), God (like the stock prediction firm's slogan [[BlasphemousBoast of "Only God is Perfect" to reflect their 80% accuracy]], the group of Jews looking for God's true name by working numerology on the Torah, some of Max's breakdowns looking like religious experiences).
* ScaryBlackMan: {{Gender Flip}}ped with Marcy Dawson, the stockbroker who hounds Max for the universal number.

* SharpshooterFallacy: Sol warns Max against obsessing over the 216-digit number (and overworking in general) because if he does so he will stop being a mathematician and turn into a "numerologist", starting to look for any way to shove a meaning to the number, even thinking that regular events he performs add up to 216 (amount of steps he takes to get somewhere, amount of seconds in an elevator, etc). Dawson and the Jews [[MaybeMagicMaybeMundane appear to]] showcase this devolving, thinking that Max's number is the key to manipulate the stock market (not "predict", ''manipulate'') and that it's God's name, respectively.
* SmartPeoplePlayChess: Max and his mentor play Go, which factors into several mathematical and visual motifs.

* TheseAreThingsManWasNotMeantToKnow: The 216-digit number repeatedly crashes Euclid and threatens to drive Max insane. It's also implied that [[SignificantName Sol]]'s second stroke came about because he started researching the number again. Just a ''partial'' number brings along an epic stock market crash. It's repeatedly linked with the sun, which fried Max's optic nerves when he gazed at it and killed Icarus when he flew too close to it.
* ThroughTheEyesOfMadness: There is ''one'' scene which is clearly a hallucination:[[spoiler: Max finding an human brain in a subway bathroom]]. The rest? Who knows?

* VillainousRescue: [[spoiler: The Jews save Max from Dawson and her goons' strong-arming attempt, because they have need of Max's knowledge of the number]].
* WeaponsGradeVocabulary: Knowing THE number, among other things, is a true name of God, so knowing it has bad effects on body and sanity. Heck, a computer calculating it created slime and ants as side-effect. Pretty large effect for a mere 216 digit number.

''π'' (pronounced "pi") is a 1998 film that marked the directorial debut of Creator/DarrenAronofsky, who also wrote the film and co-created its story. Best described as a [[{{Surrealism}} surrealist]] PsychologicalThriller, the film was made for a mere $60,000 and won a number of awards including the 1998 Sundance Film Festival award for Best Director. In his first film score work, the movie's electronic soundtrack was assembled by Music/ClintMansell, a future [[ProductionPosse long-time collaborator with Aronofsky]], who contributed the frenetic drum-and-bass theme.

* {{Lobotomy}}: In a SignatureScene, [[spoiler:Max lobotomizes himself with a power drill.]]

''π'' (pronounced "pi"), best described as a [[{{Surrealism}} surrealist]] PsychologicalThriller, is the directorial debut of Creator/DarrenAronofsky, who also wrote the film. It was made for a mere $60,000 and won the 1998 Sundance Film Festival award for Best Director. In his first film-score work, the movie's electronic soundtrack was assembled by Music/ClintMansell of later [[Film/RequiemForADream "Lux Aeterna"]] fame, who contributed the frenetic drum-and-bass theme.

Shot in minimalist black and white, the film is mostly atmosphere, with relatively little dialogue. At its core, it's a MindScrew, but an intriguing one indeed. The whole experience is often compared to ''Film/{{Eraserhead}}.''

'''9:13. Personal note: [[DescribeTopicHere describe]] ''[[DescribeTopicHere π]]'' [[DescribeTopicHere here.]]'''

* {{God}}: The Jewish group believes that the universal number is the true name of God, and that they will come closer to the Messianic Age by invoking it. Max is ambivalent about this notion, but feels that only he is worthy because it was given to him.

Through his investigating, Max stumbles upon a 216-digit number that seems to hold some universal secret. As he continues his research, his headaches worsen, he begins experiencing vivid hallucinations, and he becomes the target of Wall Street firm agents interested in profiting from his work as well as a sect of Hasidic Jews who want him to help find patterns in the Torah. Though he pushes on, determined to puzzle out the number's meaning, his mind might not be ready to comprehend it.

* AffablyEvil: The kabbalistic Jews, who explainin to Max the reason for their obsession, being genuinely sorry when one of their own punches Max in the face, and letting Max go when he refuses to give them the number (although Max explains it by saying that the group must have already tried all possible 216-digit combinations and haven't gotten the answer they seek, which they acknowledge).

Slowly daylight crept in through the bandages, and I could see.\\

The film revolves around Max Cohen, a reclusive, paranoid, migraine-afflicted math genius who, with his home-built supercomputer Euclid, has come to a series of unshakable truths:

* AffablyEvil:
** Marcy Dawson, who tries to swindle Max to help her stock prediction firm with regular sweet talking, up to her last scene, where she's putting a gun to Max's head to ''force'' him to comply.
** The kabbalistic Jews as well, explaining to Max the reason for their obsession, being genuinely sorry when one of their own punches Max in the face, and letting Max go when he refuses to give them the number (although Max explains it by saying that the group must have already tried all possible 216-digit combinations and haven't gotten the answer they seek, which they acknowledge).

* AmenBreak: Used frequently in Clint Mansell's drum 'n' bass score.