Life Of Pi

Life Of Pi

Directed by Ang Lee

Though Life Of Pi is a unique film and features some wonderful visuals, I don't feel it, as a whole, has much more than that to offer.

The first and second halves of this movie don't feel like the same thing at all. The event taking place almost halfway through completely throws the story into a totally different direction. The only problem is that I found neither half of the movie to be particularly enthralling. Told on their own, they may have stood a better chance of engaging the viewer, but together, they felt very mismatched.

Visually, this was an incredible film. Some of the images found in this movie are amongst the most beautiful in any from the entire year. However, extensive use of CGI made the entire movie feel very artificial. Being that this is not only a fantasy film, but one told from a single man's perspective -- one which, obviously, has its tendencies for flourishes. The fact that not everything in this film might be intended to be taken literally does make it work better. Still, it's not hard to impress the viewers with visuals that are totally computer-generated.

In a movie like this, the acting can very rarely find a way to impress me. This is a movie that relies so heavily on its animation and set design, the people themselves often land somewhere in the background. Suraj Sharma, who has a large part in the movie (considering he the plays 'Pi' of the title - a man who this movie is presumably the focus of) might've had a chance to do more with his role had be been given something to work with, but he really wasn't. The result is a fairly dull performance. The only one that stood out to me at all was Irrfan Khan, who seems to be the only actor in the movie that could take the material and really make it work. Everyone else, dull.

As an overall production, this is one of the more strange movies for me to attempt to critique. The music was unique, but somehow forgettable. The visuals were beautiful, but felt very fake. Virtually every aspect of this movie has me torn. The result is a movie that I can see, and understand, why people might love or hate, but I feel largely indifferent towards. Will I ever watch it again? Probably. In fact, I almost feel I owe it to myself to see it again, even if just to see how it affects me on later viewings. As it stands, I can't say I liked it, but I do think it was pretty good.