THE CRITICS: VIDEOS
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Pi (15)
A neurotic, reclusive mathematical genius (Sean Gullette) tries to crack the numerical code that allegedly underlies the mysteries of the universe, explaining everything from stock market fluctuations to ancient sacred texts. His obsession soon becomes all-consuming, and eventually, life- threatening. Writer-director Darren Aronofsky (who won a prize at Sundance last year for this first effort) has an attention-getting flair for phantasmagoria (David Lynch's classic - and far superior - Eraserhead is an oft-cited reference point). The more inspired moments in this black-and-white techno- thriller pull off the not inconsiderable task of making mathematics seem seductive. But more often than not, Pi suffers from slack, literal-minded writing, unbearably over-pitched acting, and flashy photography that incessantly calls attention to itself. Unfortunately solemn and single-mindedly lurid, it comes off ultimately as a stunt, a brazen calling card by a film-school upstart - and on those terms, it succeeds well enough.
Enemy of the State (15)
Directed by Tony Scott from a patchy but engagingly busy script by David Marconi, this better-than-average potboiler certainly covers its bases. It shrewdly zeroes in on au courant, Truman Show surveillance fantasies, pays homage to the definitive wiretap-paranoia picture The Conversation by casting Gene Hackman as a reclusive gadget-freak, and goes through the foolproof Fugitive motions with the help of Will Smith, whose box- office record indicates he may well be the next Harrison Ford. Smith plays a hotshot DC lawyer whose life promptly falls apart when an old college friend slips him a McGuffin while being pursued to his death by mysterious men in suits. The film gathers momentum more slowly than you'd expect, and finally seems a little shapeless, but that somehow works to its advantage: it feels twistier and more unpredictable than it actually is. Scott gets a good deal of mileage from the sped-up, spliced-in surveillance footage, and the aerial satellite shots lend an extra charge to the rooftop action, though someone should really tell him that shooting at a 45-degree angle does nothing besides give the audience a stiff neck.
DENNIS LIM
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments