Life of Pi (2012)

Okay, this review was originally meant to be the Asylum film 'Golden Winter', the film where a group of puppies become homeless for Christmas. Yes, the Asylum did this. But I can't review it as my copy is Bluray, and the only Bluray player I have has succumb to the yellow light of death. I'll get it fixed at some point but not in time for this month. I was actually watching it at one point as well but turned it off because it was late and I was getting tired, so I haven't seen the whole thing. Well, you now know what I'll review next Christmas. I will say this though:

OhmyGodthesedogsarepossessed!

So I had to come up with another review. And unfortunately for Rebecca I haven't read enough of her book to formulate an idea/review about it. So I'm going over a film which just came out. Ladies and gentlemen, 'Life of Pi'!

Here a writer (Rafe Spall) approaches Piscine Molitor "Pi" Patel (Irrfan Khan), after being told that he has a fascinating story, one that will make him "believe in God". Pi recounts the tale of his younger self (Suraj Sharma), when his father (Adil Hussain) moved the family and their zoo animals to America. However the ship taking them sinks and Pi finds himself sharing a lifeboat with an adult Bengal tiger named Richard Parker.

I might as well get the bad bits out the way first. Firstly, there is normally no tension in this, because we know Pi survives. That's the problem with films like this, if it's someone telling the story, then no matter what, the story teller survives. It happens here, and it happens in An Unexpected Journey, because of the Lord of the Rings, and because the film shows us this!

And, that's about it. I would complain about the CGI animals looking more CGI than real (In all honesty, only slightly), but to be honest I don't actually care this time. And it's primarily because the CGI animals act real. The way they move, roar, interact, it's so real, so lifelike, you really can't complain about them. Animals like the zebra, the orangutan, the hyena, and, of course, Richard Parker the tiger all become their own characters, primarily because of how lifelike they are.

While I did mention that there was no tension since we know Pi survives, the film still manages to drag you into the story and, at times, it is easy to forget that this is a flashback. It is certainly an enthralling masterpiece of storytelling. Though the film does try to trick you, I'll address this in a spoiler section at the end.

I suppose what helps is that this film is beautiful, and I really do mean it, about 85% of this movie have the most stunning and wonderful looking shots in the history of cinema, probably even better than the Hobbit/Lord of the Rings. You can see from the photos in this review so far, with the night shot with the jellyfish and the whale being one of the prime examples. But there's also the storm shots, which actually show that while there is great beauty in the world, there is great danger as well.

I've already commented on the CGI for the animals, and for the rest of the effects, it's effectively the same. There are some fascinating transitions, as well as dream sequences. Yes, as stated, there are some really obvious CGI moments, but I for one actually didn't care here. There are some scenes where they used real animals, but it is dominantly CGI. I won't be commenting on 3D because, again, I saw it in 2D, 'An Unexpected Journey's 3D really put me off it more than any other 3D film, and from what I've heard the 3D for this film was brilliant. That's what I've heard. The thing is, this film does actually show that it does have some good moments that should look great in 3D. Heck, this film has moments when animals appear to be OUTSIDE the frame in 2D.

The acting meanwhile, was spectacular. For the most part we only follow Sharma, and he really does deserve a special nod. This was Sharma's first ever film, but you wouldn't know that from what you see. He gives so much energy, so much passion, so much desire, you'd think he'd been acting for years. And while the film does focus on Sharma, the supporting cast do pretty good as well. Khan gives a fantastic performance while Spall is an unsung hero per say. Apparently Toby Maguire was originally suppose to play the Writer, but I've seen the Spider-Man films, Maguire would have been the wrong choice.

This is a brilliant film. The acting is great, the effects are so noticeable but brilliant, the visuals are breathtaking, and the story is superb. The film successfully manages to make you feel like you're living the film, instead of just watching it. Go right ahead and watch it.






Spoiler section

It'll be brief. When I said earlier that the film tries to trick you, it tries to trick you in such a way, you're not sure what you're watching is actually what was happening. Like when Pi and Richard reach the mysterious island, and he says the island effectively kills anything living on it, that's why he left. However he goes on to say the island was never found again, however if he had not been there, he would have died. It's things like that which make you wonder what happened. And when Pi found the plant with the tooth in it, was he hallucinating it? Was he saying he figuratively found a plant had a consumed a human tooth? Did he actually find a carnivorous plant? Did the island actually exist?

And then when the insurance agents ask him "what really happened", and Pi told them a less fascinating but more detailed story, now was THAT what really happened and the whole film was a lie? That's how the film tries to trick you.