Pi
directed by Darren Aronofsky
starring Sean Gullette and Mark Margolis
As quickly as science is evolving, many scientists and theologians are beginning to detect patterns in nature and science that suggest divine order. Pi (3.14159…), the division of a circle’s circumference by its diameter, shows up in equations that describe subatomic particles, light, and other properties not equated with circles. The new film Pi deals in tantalizing detail with two other connections; the stock market and the Torah.
This award-winning, low-budget film by Darren Aronofsky plays like an off-beat thriller, with Hassid and stock market analysts hunting down a psychotically obsessed mathematician. This mathematician is crazier, and not sexy like Matt Damon. He’s a pill-popping shut-in whose studio apartment is little more than a self-built computer and a bed. So much fascinating material is disseminated that the film’s biggest problem is giving a payoff to its own brilliance. I’ll tell you this much. Don’t expect a big, supernatural ending. We don’t see God… but maybe we did?