Bradley Cooper discovers he’s just a pill away from fortune and fame in the science-fiction thriller, LIMITLESS.
Cooper is Eddie Morra, an aspiring novelist with a serious case of writer’s block. His writer’s block isn’t just affecting his career, but also his financial situation and love life. His slacker lifestyle and mentality has just cost him his girlfriend Lindy, and his publisher is beginning to lose patience.
Enter Eddie’s ex-brother-in-law Vernon, who Eddie bumps into by chance. Vernon, a former drug dealer, now a self-proclaimed representative for a pharmaceutical company, tells Eddie that he has a pill that may solve his problems. Vernon explains that the pill he possesses, will allow Eddie to use 100% of his brain. After taking the pill, Eddie finds out that Vernon wasn’t kidding, and may have found the secret to success.
LIMITLESS is everything but that, a film which works at times, but never fully captures the promise that lies beneath its surface.
The screenplay, penned by Leslie Dixon, and based on the novel by Alan Glynn, capitalizes on the premise with a blistering dose of memory overload, allowing Eddie to recollect about past events, and using these memories as puzzle pieces to uncover his maximum potential in any given situation. This technique is thrilling, sometimes funny and often entertaining, but once these fleeting moments have passed, one longs for something more.
LIMITLESS restricts itself by becoming a one-trick pony, a good one, but one which could have provide something substantial. It scratches the surface of exploring a couple of interesting routes: our dependency on prescription or non-prescribed medication, and even better, how we define ourselves by success, or what makes us, us. Dixon’s screenplay hints at these aspects, but is more concerned on delivering a standard thriller.
Cooper does a nice job in a role that demands two Eddies: the scatter-brained, aloof slacker, and the well-adjusted, confident financial genius. His performance is crucial, as Eddie’s transformation is the bedrock for selling us on this unique, yet outlandish plot.
Director Neil Burger keeps the kinetic energy jumping throughout the majority of the picture, distracting one from the emptiness of this tale. LIMITLESS is a fairly thrilling science fiction fable that doesn’t live up to its title.
Grade: C+
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