Life of Pi

Let’s get this out of the way: This movie is beautiful to look at. That’s not nothing, but it’s far from the movie’s sole strength. Performances from human and animated creature alike are very good, but it’s the interplay of the central story and the framing device that engages me the most.

A novelist visits a middle-aged Indian-Canadian at the advice of the Indian’s uncle. Pi, a nickname stemming from his full name of Piscine, the French word for swimming pool, lives a small and quiet life...