Darren Aronofsky's stark, black-and-white debut feature follows Max Cohen, a reclusive mathematician convinced he's uncovered a numerical pattern underlying the stock market, nature, and the secret name of God hidden in the Torah. As Wall Street firms and a Hasidic sect both pursue him for his discovery, Max's crippling migraines and paranoia spiral into full psychological breakdown. Shot on grainy, high-contrast black-and-white film for a fraction of the era's typical budget, the film's jittery, percussive style became a calling card for Aronofsky's obsessive-genius fixation, one he'd return to throughout his career. A Sundance sensation on release, it remains a cult favorite for its unnerving portrait of intellect curdling into madness.