History Film / PI

* DrivenToSuicide: Not "kill" suicide, but the results 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)]].

* DrivenToSuicide: Not "kill" suicide, but the results 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 [[DoesThisRemindsYouOfAnything 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)]].

* WhiteVoidRoom: In one of his visions, Max finds himself in exactly that setting.

* MinimalistCoverArt: 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.

* NoBudget: It was made on the cheap but rarely shows.

* {{Asexual}}: Max isn't interested when his pretty neighbor constantly hits on him and doesn't seem interested in men, either. Due to his anti-social behavior, he is likely asexual.

* MouthfulOfPi: Not strictly pi, but Max can do rather complicated arithmetic in his head.

* ScaryBlackMan: {{Gender Flip}}ped with Marcy Dawson.

* ChildHater: Max is annoyed when the young neighbor girl tries to constantly test him on his math skills. He warms up to her by the end, it seems.

* DoesNotLikeChildren: Max is annoyed when the young neighbor girl tries to constantly test him on his math skills. He warms up to her by the end, it seems.

* {{Asexual:}} Max isn't interested when his pretty neighbor constantly hits on him and doesn't seem interested in men, either. Due to his anti-social behavior, he is likely asexual.

* CombatPragmatist: Max prefers to run when 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.
* CyberPunk

* HatesBeingTouched: Max.

* LuckyCharmsTitle
* MadMathematician: Max.

* NoBudget

* RageAgainstTheReflection

* MindScrew: ''The A.V. Club'' [[http://www.avclub.com/articles/pi,19384/ called it]] "like ''{{Eraserhead}}'' re-envisioned by {{cyberpunk}} author WilliamGibson."

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

** Sol states that Go is chaotic and full of infinite complexity with no predictability and rationality. That's nonsense. Go is theoretically solvable for perfect play the same way that any intelligent individual can solve Tic-Tac-Toe. Go is like Chess or Tic-Tac-Toe. It may be absurdly complex, so complex that 2013's computers are many orders of magnitude shy of the computational power to solve it, but it is not chaotic or random.

* ThroughTheEyesOfMadness: There is ''one'' scene which is clearly an allucination:[[spoiler: Max finding an human brain in the subway]]. The rest? Who knows?

* ThroughtheEyesofMadness: There is ''one'' scene which is clearly an allucination:[[spoiler: Max finding an human brain in the subway]]. The rest? Who knows?

* 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.

* 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 [[FueledByNonsensoleum makes machines "aware of their silicon nature."]]

* FaceCam: One of the more infamous uses of the so-called [=SnorriCam=]. The DVD contains some footage of a test run with Max in a convenience store.

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

* Sol states that Go is chaotic and full of infinite complexity with no predictability and rationality. That's nonsense. Go is theoretically solvable for perfect play the same way that any intelligent individual can solve Tic-Tac-Toe. Go is like Chess or Tic-Tac-Toe. It may be absurdly complex, so complex that 2013's computers are many orders of magnitude shy of the computational power to solve it, but it is not chaotic or random.

''π'' is the directorial debut of 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 soundtrack was assembled by ClintMansell of "Lux Aeterna" fame, who contributed the frenetic drum-and-bass theme.

* DidNotDoTheResearch: The number shown in the opening sequence is not actually pi, only the first few digits are correct.