Of all the working filmmakers today, Ang Lee may be one of the most diverse. He has tackled martial arts in “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” the superhero genre in “Hulk,” Jane Austen in his adaptation of “Sense and Sensibility” and most recently, Woodstock in his 2009 film “Taking Woodstock.”
His new film, “Life of Pi,” an adaptation of the 2001 a novel of the same name, furthers this diversity. Featuring glorious visuals and an intelligent usage of 3D, “Life of Pi” succeeds thanks to excellent direction and a fine performance by newcomer Suraj Sharma, but its own narrative shortcomings strangely bring an otherwise impressive film downward.
Set as a frame story, the narrative chronicles the story of Pi Patel (Suraj Sharma), a teenaged boy who finds himself shipwrecked on a small boat in the middle of the Pacific Ocean with a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker. As a frame story, the film cuts back and forth between Pi’s childhood and troubles at sea to a middle-aged Pi (played by Irrfan Khan) telling his story to a writer, played by English actor Rafe Spall.
While the scenes between adult Pi and the writer come off a bit clumsy and even trite, Lee’s direction throughout most of the film feels effortless and imaginative. Pi’s voyage at sea with a Bengal tiger remains thoroughly gripping and exciting throughout, and one of the standout scenes of the film depicts a tremendous storm that nearly kills the pair.
The relationship between Pi and Richard Parker lies at the core of the film. The two remain at sea for weeks and months, and Pi quickly learns how to distance himself from the tiger by building a small raft for himself. Ultimately, in part due to some basic survival handbooks found in the boat and his own spiritual knowledge (Pi elicits knowledge of Hindu, Christian and Islamic ideas), he learns how to tame the tiger and to respect its presence.
Thanks to some dazzling visuals and fantastic computer generated imagery, the film takes on an identity all its own. Lee is no doubt an accomplished visual artist, as he has an artist’s eye and the technical prowess to create incredible shots. He does such with “Pi”, as the film features some fantastic images. Cinematographer Claudio Miranda, who previously lensed “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” and “Tron: Legacy,” will most definitely receive some recognition for his work here, for the vibrancy of the colors on the screen and the lushness of each shot is miraculous. Many of the shots within the film could be a hanged on a wall, which is a testament to the film’s visual strength.
Moreover, Lee employs 3D to an intelligent effect. Like Martin Scorsese’s “Hugo” from last year, Lee uses 3D as a storytelling tool instead of as a gimmick. The 3D smartly directs the viewer’s attention to things on the screen, be it Richard Parker, Pi, the ocean’s ripples or Mother Nature’s wrath. Instead of acting as a distraction, the film uses 3D from the beginning until the end, with little wasted in between.
Yet, for all of its technical prowess and visual bewilderments, I could not help but feel that Lee’s film never reaches the kind of “transcendence” that it longs to achieve. Pi promises to his listener that his story will make him believe in a higher authority of some sort. But by his story’s end, the narrative takes an unexpectedly melodramatic turn. Suddenly, all of its magic seems sucked dry, with a narrative that ends on a note of conventionality rather than wonder.
Nonetheless, newcomer Suraj Sharma delivers a fine performance as the teenage Pi. As his first acting venture, he excels. His co-star with whom he acts with for nearly the entire film, Richard Parker, is completely computer generated. The technological and technical wizardry at work here defines ingenuity.
As a film with a spiritual or religious subtext, “Life of Pi” doesn’t quite work. Nonetheless, Lee’s film contains an engrossing relationship between a man and a tiger and elicits a unique visual style with probably some of the best computer-generated imagery ever committed to film.
Verdict: AB
