Life Of Pi

Even if you haven’t read Yann Martel’s novel, you’ll probably be able to hazard a guess as to what it’s about based on its many different book jackets; that being something to do with a boy, a boat and a tiger. To flesh that out a bit more, and to give you the basis of this filmed version, the boy in question is Pi, who finds himself shipwrecked on a boat in the Pacific Ocean with only a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker for company (and, no, I haven’t got those names mixed up). As the story is told in flashback by the adult Pi (Irrfan Khan), you obviously know that he survives his ordeal at sea and therefore the crux of the film is discovering how. Ang Lee is the director here and he has a field day with the camera. This being his first gig since 2009’s lowly Taking Woodstock, he brushes off any cobwebs that may have appeared with plenty of standout sequences, aided by decent special effects. He even changes the aspect ratio at certain parts, though I suppose that’s allowable in a “fantasy” story such as this. Less impressive is the CGI Richard Parker (though that name gag somehow remains funny throughout the whole film). Obviously using a real tiger would have been impossible for what is required in the film, but Richard Thomas still has too much of a computerised sheen to him for you to really feel that Pi is ever in danger at any point or that a relationship could develop between man and beast. Beautiful imagery aside, for the films two hours plus running time it’s hard to argue the case that this isn’t style over substance. What substance there is mainly manifests itself in the guise of a final scene rug pull. I’ve never read the book so was unprepared for the twist in the tale (or “tail”, maybe in this case) and wry smiles all round when you consider that M Night Shyamalan was connected to the project at one point. You should also be aware that there is a huge religious context to this film (there’s plenty of visualisation of deity’s if you look hard enough), but Lee doesn’t quite get the balance right in this respect and the last act revelation feels a bit of a con, even if it will lead to plenty of discussion. So an enjoyable film, though a flawed one in many areas. Though it appears the producers didn’t want the audience having too much of a good time as Tobey Maguire was replaced by Rafe Spall for the part of the writer in the film, for the somewhat odd reason that Maguire’s fame would have been a “distraction” for the audience. Huh?

The OC Film Sting Final Verdict

If you only see one tiger on a boat film this year…..Rating: 7/10.