With the debut of Ang Lee's Life of Pi only a few days away, I think the prevailing question at this point is if the film can match its breathtaking visuals with emotional heft. You'd certainly expect that someone like Lee could find a way to make Yann Martel's bestselling novel connect with viewers, but it still remains to be seen, especially with the title role played by a total newcomer in Suraj Sharma.
A new international trailer has been released, and while its still gorgeous, its the Coldplay and Sigur Ros score that does most of the heavy lifting. Much of the footage is similar to what we've seen before, but we do get a look at Rafe Spall in the role vacated by Tobey Maguire. Lee let the superstar actor go because he was just too famous for a film like this, and I certainly agree. The film tells the story of Pi, who after a shipwreck kills his entire family, is left adrift on a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker. Martel gave the tiger that name because there have been so many real life and fictional men who were shipwreck victims, most of whom were then cannibalized. Does that mean Pi makes a meal of the tiger at some point? Eh, I'm not gonna spoil a thing.
Life of Pi will premier at NYFF in a few days before opening in theaters on November 21st....
