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A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Year:	1998
Country of origin:	USA
Director:	Darren Aronofsky
Genre:	Numerological madness
Starring:	Sean Gullette, Mark Margolis, Ben Shenkman
Rating:	5/5
IMDB link:	http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0138704/
Tagline:	3.14159265358979
Favourite line:	"When I was a little kid, my mother told me not to stare into the sun, so when I was six I did."

Darren Aronofsky’s debut full length feature, and a tantalising first glimpse at a true auteur.

The plot:
Sean Gullette is Maximillian Cohen, a loner, obsessed by mathematics. Max spends his days studying numbers, seeking elusive patterns.
But not without purpose.
He has an aim in mind.
His focus centres around the stock market, and his absolute conviction that, as in nature, patterns must reside in what appear to be constructs of chaos.
And he thinks he has an idea what the pattern might be.
Drawing on inspiration from Fibonacci’s number, he suspects the spiral is integral to that which eludes him.
Working in a diner over coffee, Max meets Lenny, a Hasidic Jew, who confesses that he too is obsessed by numbers, though in his case the numerology focuses on The Torah.
Between them, is it possible they could potentially unlock the secret of life itself?

Shot in black and white, in harsh contrast, this is angular, frightening movie-making that by turns baffles and delights.
Those of a scientific leaning will find much food for thought here, as numerological patterns are discussed and explored, and those of a spiritual bent will also be engaged, with contemplation expounded on the purpose of life itself.
With a fearsomely powerful performance from Sean Gullette as Max, ably supported by the rest of the small cast, this may be a low budget art-house movie, but that in no way denigrates the quality.
Special mention must be made of the score, written and performed by Clint Mansell, who would go on to arrange the music for all of Aronofsky’s subsequent movies and, as with those, here the score lends an extra dimension, lifting the already remarkable to the levels of absolute perfection.
Intelligent, intense and occasionally demented, this is flawless stuff from a true genius of the art form.
Just brilliant.