Pi Literary Elements

Pi Literary Elements

Director

Darren Aronofsky

Leading Actors/Actresses

Sean Gullette and Mark Margolis

Supporting Actors/Actresses

Ben Shenkman and Samia Shoaib

Genre

Psychological thriller

Language

English

Awards

No significant awards.

Date of Release

July 10, 1998

Producer

Darren Aronofsky, Eric Watson, and Scott Vogel

Setting and Context

Chinatown, New York City

Narrator and Point of View

Through the point of view of unreliable narrator Max Cohen

Tone and Mood

Scary, Horror, Smart, Intriguing, and thrilling.

Protagonist and Antagonist

Max Cohen vs. The people trying to take his work

Major Conflict

The inner conflict between Max and his abilities

Climax

When Max tries to flee the situation he is in and go to Sol

Foreshadowing

When Max begins correctly forecasting the stock market, it foreshadows the extent of his ability.

Understatement

Max's ability is understated throughout the whole film. He thinks it's not that big of a deal that he has such profound abilities, but others do.

Innovations in Filming or Lighting or Camera Techniques

The film was innovative in that it was shot in black and white and was released in the late 1990's, and time during which few films were released in black and white. Though grainy and pixelated, the film is still well-shot.

Allusions

References to religion, particularly Judaism and Islam; as well as mathematics, particularly number theory, popular culture, and the game of go.

Paradox

Max is an introvert who dreads social interaction, yet spends time with his former Mathematics professor, Devi, and Jenny, his daughter.

Parallelism

There are no significant instances of parallelism.

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