“Life of Pi”. When I first
heard of this film, I was expecting a pleasantly entertaining story about a
delicious pastry who goes on an adventure to discover his inner self, or flavour,
if you will. It was only when I saw a trailer for the film that I realised I
was incredibly wrong. Whilst I did somewhat feel a sense of disappointment that
I wouldn't be viewing an apple crumble travel the world, I was immediately enticed
to go to my cinema and see it as soon as possible. Upon release, praise has been
flung at this film with trebuchets. The visual effects, the acting, the story.
It’s been tipped for numerous Oscar nominations, and has already had nods from
the Golden Globes (including Best Film- Drama). Safe to say, my expectations
were fucking high.
Pi Patel is answering questions
from a developing writer, who is asking him about his “extraordinary story”,
and who believes the story would make an incredible book. Pi begins to tell
story. We are taken back to Pi as a child, given an amusing back story to his
name and childhood, and progressively shown his life building up to the days
where everything changed. Pi’s family owned a zoo, but when money is an issue,
they decide to sell the animals and move to Canada. However, a large storm
causes the ship to sink, killing all of Pi’s family and everyone else on board.
Except Pi. He finds refuge on a small lifeboat and attempts to rescue himself
and get home. Oh, the catch? He’s accompanied by an adult Bengal tiger named
Richard Parker.
To put it simply, “Life of
Pi” is an incredible film. Visually and emotionally, everything here is stunning.
75% of this film consists solely of a boy on a boat with tiger, yet you will
not get bored, not once. Even at over two hours, this film simply does not stop
giving. When I heard the plot for this film, I deemed it insane yet smart,
unusual yet innovative, weird yet beautiful. “Life of Pi” is all of this, but
more.
We see Pi at 4 different
stages of his life, but we see him most at 16 years old. This Pi is played by
Suraj Sharma, who made his debut in this film. It is one hell of a debut. Sharma
plays the role of Pi with such passion and such emotion it’s easy to forget
that he isn't talking to anyone other than himself. There are numerous scenes
in which Pi shouts at Richard Parker (the tiger’s name, lest you forget), and
you feel every emotion running through his unstable mind frame. Despite having nothing
to compare yourself with in Pi, you feel everything he has gone through. And
when you have a film that requires almost entirely on emotion to keep you
interested, that is no easy feat.
For the majority of this
film, Richard Parker was edited in during post-production. It is simply unnoticeable.
There are scenes (especially in 3D, which I highly recommend in this case)
where you won’t only feel like there’s a tiger on the boat, but you feel like
there’s a tiger in the screening room. It all feels so real. As the film
progresses, we are treated with numerous moments of sheer brilliance when it
comes to visual effects. One scene in particular stands out, in which hundreds
of jellyfish float around the boat lighting everything green, causing a breaching
whale to hurtle upwards and out of the ocean, in a breathtaking explosion of
green-lit water. It is the single best visual effects shot of any film from
2012. It is stunning.
Yet another aspect of the
film worth considerable praise is the camera work Long shots enforce Pi’s
isolation at the beginning of scenes, but every time Richard Parker comes into
the scene, the camera plunges into close ups, making the set feel tighter,
safer. Through the use of framing and camera work, we are drawn to feel as Pi
does. We begin alone, but are drawn to the help and companionship of the tiger,
and immediately feel the warmth and help that he offers. The cinematography
here helps too, with lighting playing a key role in the emotions we translate.
Technically, this is a beautiful film.
You’ll find many words in
this review have been used repetitively. The reason for this is that not many
words exist that give this film the justice it deserves. I still find it
difficult to put into words how blown away I was by “Life of Pi”. This is a
time where all of the Oscar films are released. Django Unchained, Lincoln, Les
Miserables, Zero Dark Thirty; all of these are serious contenders. I hope “Life
of Pi” is given the treatment it deserves, for it really is the best film I
have seen in 2013 so far. (Look, I've held that back the whole review, and I
would feel empty had I left it out. Just give me this one, yes? Yes? No? Oh,
ok).
To Summarise:
Though deemed as an un-filmable adaptation of a great book, “Life of Pi” is a visually,
technically and primarily emotionally beautiful film.
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