Limitless (2011)

A pill that enables the user to access all of their brain wreaks havoc on the life of one deadbeat writer.

Bradley Cooper plays Eddie Morra, a writer living in the big city, whose procrastination and lack of motivation are making his career ambitions seem like unachievable dreams. He lacks the concentration to write pages for his book, he fails to inspire any confidence in the girl he loves, and his previous failings have left him feeling like a loser. But, when the brother of his ex-wife comes to him with a new super-drug called NZT, it sparks a fire in Eddie, as the pill will enable him to engage his brain to maximum strength, making his possibilities limitless.

Like all good highs, there is the inevitable crash, however, this one involves murderous eastern European gangsters with a thirst for mutilation, high rolling stockbrokers with the means to kill Eddie professionally, and the looming damage this drug seems to have on anyone who takes it. Eddie must play this game just right in order to avoid falling off the edge.

This was a film that seemed like a great premise, but one that would be unable to deliver on the potential. However, it must be conceded that this is a worthwhile film. The director, Neil Burger, does well to create a very modern feel to a film about drug use. He combines all the trappings of substance-abuse movies, such as the initial high, the short-term benefits, the long-term damage, and the difficult “cold-turkey” dilemma, but he does it in a way that seems fresh. There is a scene where Eddie goes on a long, drug-fuelled bender, and the way that the scene played out, seemed like a new-age homage to the trippy scene in Easy Rider (1969).

There are some excellent special effects in this film, such as the constant use of zooming into a scene, and then through the city, which creates this unnerving feeling of having super powers. This constant zooming also begins to become a burden as you watch it, which only reflects the subject matter.

My one big criticism is the narration: it is written half-heartedly, and seems to be there simply to keep the viewer up to speed with the plot, rather than offering insight into the plight of the characters.

Apart from that, though, this is definitely worth a watch if you like an interesting story, artistic directing, and enduring themes like dependency, greed, and self-determination.