Disclaimer: I loved the Yann Martel book and got teary with joy each time I saw the trailer. So no big surprise that I loved the movie, as did Jack. Starring Suraj Sharma (a newcomer who just happened to accompany his brother to the New Delhi casting call) as 17 year old Pi and a computer-generated Bengal tiger, whose image may propel his creators to an Oscar nomination for Best Visual Effects. My most favorite part of the book was the tiger taming sequence and, I learned from the trailer, it is crucial to the movie. Irrfan Khan (coincidentally one of the stars of another favorite Indian-themed book made into a movie, The Namesake (2006); I also liked his work in Slumdog Millionaire) plays the adult Pi as thoughtful and hopeful. Apparently director Ang Lee wanted to cast Tobey Maguire as the writer to whom the adult Pi tells his story but test audiences were too distracted by Maguire's celebrity, and Rafe Spall (we liked him in One Day) got the part instead.
David Magee (adapted Finding Neverland (2004) and co-adapted Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day) adapted the novel and his and Lee's (profiled in Taking Woodstock) risks have paid off.
The beautiful music by Mychael Danna (last did Moneyball) (click on the video box here to hear a 23 minute preview) (or listen to the entire soundtrack here, on a link that worked only in Firefox, not Chrome nor Safari) matches the magnificent images.
I predicted this would cause motion picture motion sickness (MPMS), due to the shipwreck and bobbing lifeboat, so took all the necessary precautions when we saw it three weeks ago. I advise you to do the same if you are so afflicted.
Nonetheless, I believe this is a masterpiece and you should see it in 3D if you can, and most definitely on a big screen.
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