Pi (1998)

There was just no chance that I was going to like this movie, regardless as to whether or not it was entertaining, or even “good”. But before I tell you why I was predisposed to hate it, let me tell you about all the things I disliked about it. Deep breath. Here goes.

The all-synthesizer soundtrack. The constantly overexposed, hokey black and white imagery (Wow. Symbolic.). The disgusting excess of references to Un chien andalou (1929). The bad acting. The pseudo-math. The “headaches.” The ejaculate-like goo that mysteriously appears in the computer. The computer itself. The whole premise of the movie. Darren Aronofsky. The sound quality of the recorded dialogue. The faces of the actors involved. The inclusion of the game ‘Go.’ The fact that no one even eats any pie over the whole course of the movie. The pills. The cigarettes. Sean Gullette’s manner. The DVD menu. The title. The credits.

In the interest of keeping myself from some kind of enraged psychotic break, I will not continue. But let me be clear: my obviously polemical opinion regarding Pi is not a result of me thinking that this movie was “not good”. This blog isn’t about objectively good or bad anything. Even if you think this is the best movie ever, if it is your favorite movie, if you watch it every Thursday at 3:14pm; we can still be friends. But only as long as you have your reasons for liking it, just as I have mine for disliking it (see above laundry list of annoyances).

If you haven’t noticed already, most of my reasons for liking or disliking certain movies have to do with emotions the movies bring up in me, or connections I made between some aspect of the movie and other thoughts or emotions or events. Sometimes I make my motives clear, other times I leave them unsaid.

In the case of Pi, I would like to be frank. My irritable, impossible-to-please attitude stems from many tedious conversations in which some person tried to tell me that I had bad or (worse), naïve, taste in movies because I didn’t think Aronofsky, or any other hero-worshiped “genius” of a director, was as awesome as my partner in conversation thought. Wow, guy in a bar. Wow, girl at a party. Wow, professor leaning back in the chair, enlightening me on the subject of “auteurs”. You think your opinion entitles you to lord your taste over mine. Good for you. But I don’t buy it.

There are probably a lot of movies referencing Buñuel’s work that I would enjoy. I know there are movies with over exposed, black and white images that I could list among my favorites. I actually enjoyed The Fountain. And who doesn't love a couple of movies that they know have atrocious acting?

But goddamnit. I feel the way I feel about Pi because it reminds me of all the times someone tried to tell me I don’t know my own mind. And that’s just not right.

Hopefully, even after all this, you still want to go and figure out yours. That's the whole point.