Pi

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. (30/04/2011)

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)

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)

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)

Insane weirdness that sucks you in at the beginning and spits you out absolutely exhausted by the end. It’s one of those films that I don’t really know how to judge, I could give it two or even four stars with a clean conscience. The combination of black and white images, psychotic music and the various noises in the background works wonders, while the short runtime makes Pi something relatively bearable. I’ll never watch it again, though, I’m not a fan of maths, and letting someone make me feel depressed voluntarily isn’t among favourite activities, either. My rating is something between 40 and 80 percent… (12/09/2008)