easy as π

Who knew a film about a mentally ill number theorist and a Hasidic Jew would make such a big splash? Darren Aronofsky’s black-and-white thriller brought to prominence one of the 21st-century’s most original and idiosyncratic filmmakers, responsible for everything from the acclaimed Hubert Selby adaptation Requiem for a Dream to the utterly confounding The Fountain to the mainstream hit The Wrestler. Aronofsky returns in just a few weeks with Black Swan, a ballet thriller that’s already topping some critics’ Best of 2010 lists.