Pi

In the genre of weird movies, there’s also π (1998) by Darren Aronofsky (who also directed Requiem for a Dream). The story’s main character, Max Cohen, believes that everything in the universe adheres to patterns that can be understood through numbers. At first he’s using his self-made supercomputer to predict the stock market. But then he meets a zealous Hasidic Kabbalist who hopes to decipher god’s code in the Torah through numerical calculations. At the same time, Max has been approached by a Wall Street firm, who offer him a superchip in return for his predictions. His computer prints out a string of 216 numbers, just like his old computer did before breaking down, just as his math mentor had just before he died, and through some epiphany he recognizes the spiral-shaped patter in the number-string. The Kabbalist and the Wall Street firm increase their pressure on Max, which sends him over the edge of sanity.

The film toys with the thin line between genius and insanity – the maddening truth, the truth in madness, like an Arthur Machen story, or a Terry Gilliam film. Perhaps the most profound statement in the movie is the mentor’s admonition, that “as soon as you discard scientific rigor, you are no longer a mathematician, you’re a numerologist.” This film is no advocate for scientific truths, though, as Max suffers from incapacitating migraines, nosebleeds, crippling hallucinations, paranoia, and possibly schizophrenia. In the end he drills a hole in his skull to be at peace – and never again think about numbers and patterns. Apart from the art-house hip black-and-white and the interesting soundtrack, I found the cinematography terribly annoying – what with the handheld shots, the quick cuts, and the extreme close-ups. Nevertheless, for those who wish to contemplate the ultimate truth – and whether to find it through science or mysticism – this may not be the worst way to spend your time.

Requiem for a Dream

I don’t care what you say, I think Requiem for a Dream (2000) is a terrific film – a terrible trip into drug-induced nightmares, but a good movie. True, I don’t care much for the cinematography, the split-screens, extreme close-ups, time-lapse scenes, and body-cam shots, or the quick-cut montage shots of drug use (dilation of pupils, pill swallowing, heroin cooking, etc. etc.). I understand that the style is meant to visualize the character’s isolation, alienation, to draw us into their subjective experience, but in my view the film would have done better without. At any rate, the story is about Harry (Jared Leto), his mother Sara (Ellen Burstyn), his girlfriend (Jennifer Connelly) and his best friend Tyron (Marlon Wayans). They all live in Brighton Beach, N.Y. Harry and his friends are heroin addicts who start pushing drugs on the street, hoping to help Marion open her own fashion store. Harry’s mother is a TV junkie addicted to infomercials. All alone, her life regains new meaning when she receives an invitation to participate on a game show. She goes on a diet, taking weight-loss pills, uppers and downers, gradually losing grip on reality. She begins hallucinating about food, the fridge starts moving, pastry starts flowing around the house.

Months pass and Sara never hears another word about the game show. In her desperation she increases her dosage, soon taking pills randomly. She believes Harry has found well-paying employment and will soon marry Marion; he gives her a new TV set; and soon she believes she’s the central character in her favorite infomercial. Tyron gets arrested in the middle of a gang assassination and Harry needs to use most of their earnings to bail him out. Drugs become scarce because of the gang violence. Marion is pushed into prostituting herself to make at least enough money to support their addictions. If things appeared to be fine in the summer but started to go badly by the fall, when winter hits they really descend into a nightmarish abyss. Sara completely loses it and ends up wondering the streets until she arrives at the TV studio. She ends up in a mental hospital, where they eventually resort to electric shock therapy when all else fails to get her better. Harry and Tyron drive away toward Florida hoping to score enough dope to sell back in New York, but on the way Harry’s arm gets more and more infected from shooting up. When Tyron takes Harry to a hospital to have his arm treated, they get arrested instead. Marion slides deeper into prostitution, performing perverse acts at an orgy full of men in suits. Tyron faces racism and forced labor in prison. Harry’s arm has to be amputated to save his life. The film ends with scenes of all four characters falling asleep in fetal position.

“Requiem for a Dream” is a beautiful title. A “requiem” is normally an elegy or ode sang at the funeral of a deceased. The deceased in this case being the dreams of the four characters. – Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine (“Grant them eternal rest, O Lord”) – While we’re given some impression of these American Dreams, the movie rather depicts the character’s plunge into the nightmare, their descent into the abyss. The film is actually more critical of American consumerism than of drug use; it doesn’t scream: “Drugs Are Bad!” Nor would I judge anyone giving in to the temptations of food and drink, sex and drugs, or rock and roll – the pursuit of happiness. It’s when the addiction takes over, when we lose control, that we run the risk of losing ourselves and our minds. What director Darren Aronofsky illustrates admirably with this story (based on the novel by Hubert Selby jr.) is that the descent is so gradual it’s indiscernible – it’s impossible to tell at what point they have lost grip, when the rot has set in, and the fall has become inevitable. Because the story is so compelling, the dialogue and acting so enthralling, that I found this nightmare such a rush to watch. I recall when I first walked out of the cinema ten years ago, the experience left me shocked and repulsed, fascinated and high.