π (1998)
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A mathematician's obsession with finding order in the world leads him into a dangerous spiral of paranoia and mysticism.
The story
Unemployed number theorist Max Cohen lives in a drab apartment in Chinatown, Manhattan, where he believes everything in nature can be understood through numbers. Suffering from cluster headaches and extreme paranoia, Max's only social interactions are with his mentor, Sol Robeson, and a few neighbors. His life takes a turn when his computer, Euclid, produces a mysterious 216-digit number. When Max shares this number with his mentor, Sol becomes visibly unnerved. As Max delves deeper into the mathematical patterns of the world, he is approached by a Wall Street firm offering a high-tech chip to help him analyze the data, leading him toward a potentially world-altering discovery.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Max Cohen, a man plagued by headaches and paranoia, becomes obsessed with a 216-digit number generated by his computer, Euclid. After a mysterious epiphany involving the number, Max begins to experience visions of stock market patterns. He is approached by a Wall Street firm that offers him a 'Ming Mecca' chip to analyze the number, which he then applies to the Torah with the help of Lenny Meyer, a Hasidic Jew. After the firm's attempt to use the number causes a market crash, Max is taken to a synagogue where they believe the number is the name of God. Following the death of his mentor, Sol, Max becomes increasingly isolated. He eventually burns the paper containing the number and performs a self-trepanning procedure on his head to find relief from his pain. In the final scene, a young girl named Jenna asks him to perform calculations, and Max responds with a peaceful smile.
- First release year
- 1998
- Runtime (minutes)
- 84
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Darren Aronofsky
- Writers
- Darren Aronofsky · writer
- Cast and characters
- Sean Gullette · Maximillian "Max" Cohen; Mark Margolis · Sol Robeson; Ben Shenkman · Lenny Meyer; Samia Shoaib · Devi; Pamela Hart · Marcy Dawson; Stephen Pearlman · Rabbi Cohen; Ajay Naidu · Farouq; Kristyn Mae-Anne Lao · Jenna; Lauren Fox · Jenny Robeson; Clint Mansell · Photographer
- Genres
- psychological thriller
- Themes
- religion; mysticism; mathematics
- Tone and mood
- psychological; intense
- Premise and plot tags
- mathematics; conspiracy; mysticism
- Reception
- The film was well-received by critics, described as a 'dramatically gripping and frighteningly smart' thriller that successfully explores its complex subject matter on a small budget.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 88% · scale: percentage · review count: 58; Metacritic · score: 72 · scale: 100 · review count: 23
- Awards and nominations
- Directing Award · Sundance Film Festival · 1998 · Win; Independent Spirit Award · Best First Screenplay · 1998 · Win
- Production trivia
- The film was shot on high-contrast black-and-white reversal film.; The production was made on a very low budget, with actors paid $75 a day.; The film was the first ever to be sold as a download on the Internet.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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