ENHANCED EDDIE'S RECIPE FOR GRANDEUR: a review of "Limitless"

“LIMITLESS”
Based upon the novel The Dark Fields by Alan Glynn
Screenplay Written by Leslie Dixon
Directed by Neil Burger
**1/2 (two and a half stars)

I have to admit that I often wish that I had a pill like NZT.

Dear readers, I am certain that at times, and perhaps more than either you or I would like to admit, that our brains feel as if it is not operating at its fullest capacities during our daily lives. For myself, on those days my brain feels like it’s akin an electronic contraption that is not completely plugged into its outlet.

But, how about the conceptual opposite? What if we were fully “plugged in,” so to speak? What if we could dissipate the fogginess that regularly clouds our minds and illuminate ourselves into a previously untapped clarity? In my life, I could easily return to my long gestating novel in progress, finding the words that indeed exist deep inside the recesses of my mind but have much difficulty in arriving. I could also be able to navigate the complexities of my daily life as a preschool classroom teacher, hurling myself effortlessly around the myriad obstacles of each day, which stars my band of four year olds. Within those two areas of my life plus others I have not bothered to mention, if I could permanently release those mental cobwebs, I know that I would feel as if I could accomplish nearly anything I could conceive of. Yes friends, what if we actually could tap into the deepest and most complete connection into our brain’s capacities? This concept is the fascinating premise to “Limitless,” a new thriller from Director Neil Burger. While it is not the sort of movie that I would race to see a second time and despite its occasional flaws, it grabbed my attention from the beginning and held my interest all the way to its conclusion.

Bradley Cooper stars as Eddie Morra, a down on his luck novelist who lives in a grungy New York apartment consumed with writer’s block and the memories of his long ago failed marriage and the current reality of his failed relationship with Liddy (Abbie Cornish). On one particularly fateful day, Eddie runs into Vernon Gant (Johnny Whitworth), his ex-brother in law and presumably former drug dealer. As Eddie confesses his troubles over afternoon drinks, Vernon slides Eddie a small translucent pill called NZT-48, a substance that allows anyone who swallows it the ability to access 100% of their brain power as opposed to the 20% we utilize normally. Reluctantly, Eddie takes the pill and before you can say, “be careful what you wish for,” all of his mental lights are turned on brightly. Eddie not only barrels through the writing of his own long gestating novel, completely cleans his grungy apartment making it quite lushly livable and he even beds his landlord’s young, angry wife!

The next morning, the cobwebs of Eddie’s mind return. Now hooked on the realities of his life enhanced by NZT, Eddie calls upon Vernon for another round of the drug only to find that he has been murdered. Terrified, Eddie dials 911 and while waiting for the arrival of the authorities, he searches Vernon’s apartment for more NZT pills, finding them and a large stash of money stored deeply inside of the oven. Eddie steals the pills and cash, thus beginning an odyssey where not only his novel is completed in four days, he resumes his relationship with Lindy, he becomes fluent in several languages almost instantaneously and he also becomes a financial wizard in barely over the course of one week. Eddie rapid ascension to massive wealth captures the attention of the enormously powerful businessman Carl Van Loon (Robert DeNiro) and yes, a gang of Russian thugs. And then, there is the matter of the periodic blackouts, lost time, headaches and heart palpitations to deal with and of course, the most important issue: what will Eddie do when his secret stash of NZT pills runs out for good?

At its best, “Limitless” works in the very ways that a film like this year's “The Adjustment Bureau” failed miserably. “Limitless” is consistent with itself as it sets up its world cleanly, clearly, vibrantly and sticks to the rules it creates firmly. At its most inspired, the film is a clever story about addiction as we can see the effects of NZT over the film’s primary characters and the lengths to which each of them will go in order to remain under the drug’s wild effects.

Neil Burger’s visual palate, especially during the film’s more hallucinogenic sections that depict the beginnings of enhanced brain power, have clearly been by Stanley Kubrick’s “vortex sequence’ from “2001: A Space Odyssey” (1968). But the film as a whole is so obviously influenced by David Fincher’s masterful “Fight Club” (1999). From the arrogantly ironic voiceover narration, to its visual effects and electronic music score, to it’s book ended violent high rise confrontations and even deeper, to its themes of angry white male psychological paranoia, “Limitless” owes so much of itself to “Fight Club” that I think that Fincher should collect a piece of this film’s residuals!

Unfortunately, Burger’s homage is all style without substance as he does not know exactly how to utilize his cinematic tools to Fincher’s level. The film’s narration is entirely needless as it only explains what the audience has already gathered upon its own just by watching the film. The special effects are too terribly showy and not organic to the piece as a whole (although one bit which depicts Eddie’s release from writer’s block is particularly nifty). There is so much of nothing else behind the obvious homage that “Limitless” often feels like an impersonal copycat production despite my involvement with the actual storyline and intriguing premise.

And yet there is another difficult factor at work and that is the film’s star, Bradley Cooper.

Dear readers, Bradley Cooper completely rubs me the wrong way. It has nothing to do with whatever level of talent he may possess. I just think he is one of those actors that just got lucky. He just strikes me as being not to far removed from the character he portrayed in “The Hangover” (2009), an overgrown frat-boy. Because of that perception I hold of him as a celebrity, it seems more than fitting that he is a very effective lead as Eddie Morra because “Limitless” seems to play off of audience member’s perception of him. I think that you will either root for Eddie’s rise or fall dependant upon how you feel towards Bradley Cooper as an individual, or at least the persona he creates within the media. For me, let’s just say, and without revealing any spoilers, my wishes for Eddie did not exactly come to fruition but hey…that’s Hollywood, where good looks and a fat wallet can get you out of any jam and no matter how much of a jerk you are, you will always remain on the top of the mountain.

For “Limitless” as a whole, this is Hollywood as well. For a story that is essentially about taking extreme risks, albeit drug induced extreme risks, the film too often plays it safe and goes down the very familiar roads that you would expect it to travel. Furthermore, we have this film in which the most coveted item is this NZT pill. Think of what YOU would or could do with a pill like this. It is a shame that “Limitless” never goes terribly far with its own concept. Here’s this pill that allows you to access 100% of your brain but in this film, all it really does it transform the user into an arrogantly smug bastard of gargantuan proportions (which Cooper plays to the hilt) who cannot resist the opportunity of rubbing everyone’s noses within his unearned good fortune and hefty bankroll. Is that really all there is?

I guess so, but somehow "Limitless" does sort of work…although in limited doses.