If you could take a pill that allowed you to access 100% of your brain power, would you do it? That’s the concept behind the 2011 thriller Limitless.
Eddie Morra is a struggling, pitiful writer whose life drastically changes when he is introduced to a black-market drug that enables him to remember everything he has ever seen or read, speak new languages fluently within a month, and earn 500% returns on his investments. When his supply begins to diminish, he desperately searches for more to keep the attention of hedge fund genius Carl Van Loon (Robert De Niro) and avoid individuals after his drug stash. Eddie becomes a target of loan sharks and gangsters while internally, the drug causes mysterious blackouts. Eddie and the viewer quickly realize that the intellect-inflating drug has a deadly price.
Everyone craves a boost in smarts, but what we would do with a genius IQ is a separate matter entirely. Eddie uses his enhanced mental powers to serve himself. Instead of curing cancer or solving world hunter, he succumbs to greed and lust in a quest to earn money and power. For an ultra-intelligent guy, his moral sense of right and wrong seems woefully misguided. Furthermore, the film seems to glorify the use of illegal drugs and luxurious lifestyles. While Limitless has its limits with respect to moral philosophy, the plot of brilliance clashing against desperation makes for an enjoyable, fast-moving 105 minutes.
Plot line aside, the film makes excellent use of lighting to capture the mental transformation of Eddie. When Eddie takes the drug, the colors on the screen escalate and his view of the world seem skewed. When Eddie is writing under the influence, we see letters fall from the ceiling. A shining light engulfs Eddie’s face and the camera whips through Manhattan streets. Cinematographer Jo Willems deserves credit for enhancing the quality of this film.
Perhaps more than anything else, Limitless leaves the audience with a sense that we should be careful what we wish for.
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