Movies Reviews

Limitless – Movie Review

By Anne Brodie Mar 17, 2011, 16:41 GMT

Seriously, ladies.  And gents.  Bradley Cooper, brooding, handsome, blue eyed, sometimes in multiples, sometimes bedraggled, sometimes dapper as can be, but always - hunk-o-rama .  Okay that’s out of the way.   Limitless, Cooper’s latest film, a neat medical, psychological thriller, is absolutely worth the admission for so many reasons besides the ones listed above.

Cooper is Eddie Morra, a writer who hasn’t managed to jot down a single word for his big book deal book.  He’s stuck in that familiar way we all have experienced, just stuck.  He tries to convince people at a bar, his ex-girlfriend, his ex-brother in law and ex-wife that he’s doing well, but he isn’t. 

His tiny NY flat is a cluttered mess, reflecting not so much a boho lifestyle as a seriously depressed stay-at-home, instead of writing he does everything, as long as it doesn’t involve standing up – he’s that down.  His hair’s a mess and his face is a study in wasted living.

On a walk outside for air, he runs into his former brother in-law who offers him a way out of his decrepitude – a clear pill that will allow him to access 100% of his brain power. Apparently we only access 20%, although I once heard it was 8%. 

He pops it down after the merest moment of doubt and sure as he was promised, his brain starts firing on all jets.  He sees so clearly now, his logical reasoning skills are off the charts, he can take in multiple images at once, feel the air flow and sun shine, radiates glowing health and success and readies himself for all the great stuff he feels certain is on the way.

And it arrives soon.  Before long, he is churning out brilliant pages; his book is a success!  He turns his hand to the markets. Overnight he’s a success, from ten grand to millions in ten days!  He is able to do anything he wants – learn languages,   play piano, conquer sports, and finally he redecorates his apartment and does something with that hair.  Unfathomable transformation in the space of days, thanks to the little pills. 

The success scenes are separated down days as they are literally bathed in golden light; Cooper’s eyes are somehow bluer too.  Good trick used by Oliver Stone in Wall Street.

He needs to find more of those pills.  His discovers his ex-brother in law brutally murdered and his apartment tossed in what Eddie presumes sis a search for the magic pill.  He calls the police but makes time to hunt down a stash. 

That’s where trouble begins.  Soon Robert De Niro, a business mover and shaker is trying to capture his intelligence to launch a massive takeover.  Russian mobsters are after him.  His ex-gal pal (Abbie Cornish) is willing to come back if he can make his success last (and that requires pills).  Difficult times.

This is a nifty little suspenser that is surprisingly good especially considering how high the concept and the time of release. Usually it’s the stinkers in theatres now, but Limitless is a nice shot of adrenaline to our poor, tired, under-entertained brains. 

Cooper has total command of the camera and a magnetic personality.  We’re with him all the way even when he sinks to addiction and pills to function; that’s how special Cooper‘s cinematic persona and Eddie Morra are.

Philosophical questions plague us afterwards.  How much brain power are we using? How much better would our lives be if we just applied ourselves as Eddie did?  If given a pill that made us super performers, would we take it knowing the consequences?  Limitless is a neat little cautionary tale for the times and a reminder that we are the masters of our own ships.

And that’s a good night at the movies.

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35mm sci fi thriller
Written by Leslie Dixon, Alan Glynn
Directed by Neil Burger
Opens:  March 18
Runtime: 105 minutes
MPAA: ?
Country: US
Language: English