Every Friday, Deuce dips into the mighty Grab Movies catalog and recommends a movie that may have slipped your notice.

This Week's Selection: Pi

"When your mind becomes obsessed with anything, you will filter everything else out and find that thing everywhere."

For most folks, mathematics (especially advanced mathematics) is considered a form of voodoo beyond their understanding. Sure, we all possess the fundamental understandings - 2 plus 2 is 4, 3 minus 1 is 2 and always double down when dealt an eleven. But as the numbers go into double and then triple digits, our inherent understanding slowly grays away beyond our limits and we start suspect, secretly, there is something mysterious at work. Maybe there is.

Pi is the story of a genius if not slightly obsessive mathematician who believes he can unlock the mathematical patterns that govern the Chaos Theory - eventually even total chaos forms a pattern, and thus follows order. Sound unexciting? Consider that ability for something more tangible and lucrative, like the seeming unpredictable patterns of the stock market.

As Max continues his breakneck pursuit while building a supercomputer to handle the complex equations necessary, not to mention battling migraine headaches, paranoia and his own dysfunctional lifestyle, mysterious visits from corporate executives and Hassidic rabbis begin to plague both his work and his sanity. Of course the corporate exec's want his knowledge for material gain, but the strange intrusions of Hassidic rabbis are even more mysterious and for good reason - Are there mathematical formulas buried within the Torah? Is the true name of God really a number? Should man know it?

Despite being a low-budget film (made from $60,000 built from $100 contributions) Darren Aronofsky and Sean Gulette have successfully made a creepy suspense ride on the most unlikely of topics - math. In fact, Pi's low-budget elements add an street-level authenticity to the events taking place. The audience begins to share in Max's paranoia, seeing hidden numbers and boogeymen lurking in every shadow. Soon we begin to give pause to the randomness of daily events, wondering if something more sinister and mysterious is at work. Maybe he's crazy. Maybe we are, too. It's X-Files with a calculator, and a true testament to what dedicated filmmaking can accomplish regardless of the budget. After all, it's only a number.

That's this week's recommendation. Keep coming back every Friday for more Sleeperdisc selections.