By Scott Muoio

Number theory. Obsession. Paranoia. Patterns. Addiction. My second viewing of Pi after nearly a decade highlights these notions while again proving one particular thing: Darren Aronofsky’s 1998 no budget debut is an independent masterpiece.

Here’s what I wrote in November 2002:

Though its sheen is mathematics, Pi is really a film about addiction. The movie shows the fascinating journey of Max (Sean Gullette), a lifetime number addict who stumbles upon an esoteric 216-digit number that may hold the answer to life, itself. His addiction to numbers leads to a series of tragic problems that finally culminate in a devout Jewish cult and stubbornly aggressive investment firm pursuing his brainpower at all costs. It’s an intense ride that stands easily as a unique and engaging thriller. However, it is its careful attention to detail and striking intelligence that make it much more.

Max’s guardian angel and the voice of reason in the film is an elderly former mathematician named Sol (Mark Margolis) whose Go showdowns with Max turn into intense gab sessions about the meaning of mathematics and addiction. No matter Sol’s advice, Max continues his tunnel vision pursuit of cracking the stock market regardless of the danger, failure, and personal devastation that Sol warns will result from such a single-minded pursuit. Indeed, Sol understands that high-minded pursuits are important but also realizes that they are absolutely useless without perspective and stepping back to see a bigger picture. It is that lack of perspective that keeps the addict going and always leads to a major fall.

The movie is filmed in grainy black and white adding both grit and a claustrophobic vibe to the film. It also puts the viewer inside Max’s close-minded one-dimensional addiction, a stunt that is improved even further with jittery hand held camerawork and true to life locations. Max’s cramped apartment with its levels of computer hardware and exposed wires is particularly striking and a brilliant way to create the illusion that number crunching is exciting when tedium is its true hallmark.

Nine years later I am equally impressed with Pi as I was in 2002 and not in the least surprised that director Darren Aranofsky went on to create some of the decade’s very best films. No doubt Pi is a modern classic of independent film and a lesson to aspiring filmmakers that ideas, ingenuity, and talent are much more important than money and celebrity.

Director: Darren Aronofsky

Producer: Eric Watson, Scott Vogel

Writer: Darren Aronofsky (Story by Darren Aronofsky, Sean Gullette, and Eric Watson)

Starring: Sean Gullette, Mark Margolis, Ben Shenkman, Samia Shoaib

Original Music: Clint Mansell

Cinematographer: Matthew Libatique

Editor: Oren Sarch