Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Limitless (2011)

Limitless (2011)


A struggling writer unlocks the full potential of his brain by taking a cutting-edge pharmaceutical, only to find that his newfound abilities have made him a target for some of the most greedy and dangerous men on the planet.

Director: 

Neil Burger

Writers: 

Leslie DixonAlan Glynn 

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The story revolves around a man, Eddie Morra (Bradley Cooper), who fits in the typical “loser” stereotype: a writer who hasn’t written a single word, who can’t pay his rent and relies on the financial help of his ex-girlfriend Lindy (Abbie Cornish), and dresses like a bum. 
His luck changes as he runs into his ex-wife’s brother Vernon (Johnny Whitworth) who gives him a pill that can boost one’s brain capacity to 100%. Only a few seconds after taking this “miracle drug”, Eddie begins perceiving the world differently: the sounds, the texture, the light, the color, the smell, everything is enhanced and more accurate. His brain overflows with imagination and inspiration, so he’s able to write several pages of his book within hours. He can also access every single memory about everything he’s ever read, heard and experienced.
Unfortunately, the effects of the drug fade after some time and he goes searching for his ex-brother-in-law so he can get more pills. He gets them breakfast and when he comes back, Vernon was shot to death. He calls the police, but has enough time to look for and find a stash of pills before the police arrives. Once he starts taking the pill daily his life looks like a dream come true, as he learns several languages and becomes a stock wizard, drawing the attention of a very powerful business man (Robert de Niro). Everything would be perfect, since now he’s at the top of the world, has published his book, has many job offers and got his girlfriend back, but the side effects are too weakening and he needs to keep increasing the amount of daily drug intake.

The movie ends with Eddie being able to overcome the side effects and the need to take the drug but maintaining its ability to use all of his brain’s potential, being politically influential, and continuing extremely wealthy. The story makes us wonder what we would do if we could use all our intelligence, either to learn new languages, or to play instruments, or to learn math, physics or any other subject. 
The options are limitless! But on the other hand, it kept us thinking that not all is determined by our smarts, but also by our personality and our character. Every choice that Eddie made was selfish, because it only targeted his personal gain (make money, impress his girlfriend, and be powerful). It hasn’t even occurred to him that he could have studied Medicine and Pharmacy so he could find the cure for cancer, Aids or a neurological illness, such as Alzheimer or Parkinson, and still profit from it, both financially and humanly.
 
All in all, the movie is very, very entertaining! And incredibly creative. 

3 comments:

  1. I haven't read the book, but I heard there was one out there. I would love to hear a movie vs book of this one.

    Beth ^_^
    http://sweetbooksnstuff.blogspot.com/

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  2. I wasn't aware there was a book! ;) thanks for telling me!

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  3. I liked this movie. Ithought it was a very interesting concept and i thought it was super entertaining.
    But I agree, everything he did was selfish. He didnt do anything to better the world (i mean... I guess he ran for some form of political office, and I suppose he could make some kind of difference that way. but still, not the same)

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I would love to read what you have to say. :)