Overview
A brilliant mind teeters on the edge of sanity as he seeks the ultimate truth in numbers.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Mild
- paranoid
- eerie
- oppressive
- late night viewing
- introspective movie night
What critics said
Critics broadly found the film dramatically gripping, frighteningly intelligent, eerie, and compelling despite its shoestring production.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Max's headaches, hallucinations, paranoia, and delusions make the boundary between objective events and subjective experience deliberately uncertain.
The grainy black-and-white images, harsh contrasts, cramped apartment, and hostile Chinatown streets externalize Max's mental distress.
Max risks his health and sanity while pursuing a numerical pattern he believes can explain markets, nature, and existence.
Max's mathematical investigation draws both Wall Street interests and a Hasidic sect seeking meaning in the Torah.
Films like Pi, and why
Memento
shares paranoid psychological tension, unstable perception, and an intellectually ambitious descent into obsession
Primer
shares arthouse science fiction, reality distortion, mathematical or conceptual mystery, and oppressive urban atmosphere
Lost Highway
shares surreal psychological horror, fractured subjectivity, disturbing imagery, and a protagonist consumed by an obsessive pursuit
Eraserhead
shares black-and-white expressionism, paranoia, cerebral investigation, and a claustrophobic descent into madness
Movie Details
- Director
- Darren Aronofsky
- Release Date
- 1998-07-10
- Runtime
- 84 min
- Rating
- 7.1 / 10 (2600)
Cast
- Sean Gullette
- Mark Margolis
- Ben Shenkman
- Pamela Hart
- Stephen Pearlman
- Samia Shoaib
- Ajay Naidu
- Kristyn Mae-Anne Lao
- Espher Lao Nieves
- Joanne Gordon
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Pi about?
- A tormented mathematician hunts for a universe-explaining pattern while rival seekers and his own unraveling close in around him.
- What is Pi like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Pi as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Pi violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in Pi as mild.
- What did critics think of Pi?
- Critics broadly found the film dramatically gripping, frighteningly intelligent, eerie, and compelling despite its shoestring production.
- Which films are like Pi?
- Films with a similar feel include Memento, Primer, Lost Highway, and Eraserhead.
- How long is Pi?
- Pi runs 84 minutes.
- Where can I watch Pi?
- In United States, Pi streams on Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads.
