The water scenes, which take up a huge portion of the movie from the initial sinking of the freighter (which was incredibly intense and had me wondering how he got those shots), to the journey of the lifeboat and the eventual return to shore, were one of the major stumbling blocks for Lee’s ten-year journey to bring Life of Pi to the screen. Lee is working with the unenviable trifecta of water, animals and a first-time actor in Sharma. And it’s here that some of the most remarkable technical achievements occur. When things get tense, we experience that tension when there is a glimmer of hope, we’re hopeful with them. I say that in a good way because we are truly tied to the fates of Pi and Richard Parker throughout the film. After a brutal sequence of events, only Pi and a huge tiger named Richard Parker remain.Īnd here is where the audience is trapped for the majority of the picture. The journey quickly goes south when a terrible storm wracks the ship and capsizes it, with only Pi and a few of his family’s animals surviving in a lifeboat. On the ship, Pi’s family runs afoul of an unpleasant Frenchman (Depardieu) who happens to be the cook but they’re also befriended by a Chinese passenger who makes the voyage more pleasant. Pi’s father decides to sell off the animals and move to America, traveling across the Pacific Ocean on a freighter along with his precious cargo. The heart of the story centers on the teenaged Pi (Sharma) and the animals that belong to his family. It’s a brilliant sequence that establishes the protagonist as both the central character of action and as a trusted narrator, all at once this trust comes in to play by the end of the film. While this story in itself is entertaining, it serves a secondary purpose of easing the listeners in to the tone and rhythm of the storyteller, while also gaining their trust. The time spent on Pi’s childhood also reveals the fact that the young boy is enthralled by the religions of the world but can’t quite seem to choose one to follow. Having given up on a previous book idea, an author (Spall) seeks an audience with Pi Patel (Khan), who has a story that will make the writer “believe in God.” Patel begins his tale with an account of how he got his unusual name (which is too good to spoil here). The framework of Life of Pi is actually a story within a story. I’m pleased to report that Lee allows many such moments throughout. I found this to be very refreshing once I settled into it, because so few films these days allow the audience to just enjoy the moment. It also achieves the effect of transitioning an audience into a more patient and peaceful state of mind, almost like a brief meditation session. Life of Pi opens with an extended credit sequence that serves to introduce a variety of animals seen in the film, as well as establishing the rich, vividly colorful palette that Lee uses throughout the picture. While certainly it is difficult to condense all of that into a two-hour play already bursting at the seams, one can’t help but feel the absence of that nuance.While the marketing for Life of Pi has focused on the exotic aspects of both the look of the film and its amazing story, the movie itself is a much broader experience. Pi’s subtle, philosophical musings are steamrolled into throwaway diversions about God and religion that never take off. The novel’s internal dialogue has likewise been flattened in the adaptation process. Characters, including Pi’s family, feel two-dimensional, styrofoam facsimiles of Martel’s original creations. The production falters, however, in its script. In doing so, he connects the action of wild waters to the sterile hospital room from where he is relaying the story. Under Max Webster’s direction, the actor plays the impish teenager with boyish athleticism. Hiran Abeysekera lends the role of Pi a similar physicality. The Drifters Girl review: Beverley Knight shines within weakly scripted jukebox musical.String v SPITTA review: A premise so ingenious it’s hard to believe it hasn’t been done before.
#LIFE OF PI MOVIE THEATERS UPDATE#
The Wiz review: The cult retelling of The Wizard of Oz is given a perky if diluted update.