LIMITLESS (2011)

A Review by Shlomoh Sherman
Euclid, Ohio - April 4, 2011


Director: Neil Burger
Writers: Leslie Dixon (screenplay), Alan Glynn (novel)
Plot Summary: a writer gains amazing intellectual power after ingesting a new untested drug
Tagline: What if a pill could make you rich and powerful?
Genres: Mystery - Thriller
Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)
Rated PG-13 for thematic material involving a drug, violence including disturbing images, sexuality and language.
Run time: 105 min
Production Co: Many Rivers Productions
Original Music by Paul Leonard-Morgan
Opening date: March 18, 2011 (USA)
Director: George Nolfi


Most of my life I have heard that we only use 20% of our brain. RAMBAM says maybe 20.1% but the Sages disagree.

How can we use that small amount? If God or nature gave us an organ, why are we limited to a small area of that organ?
Do we use 20% of our heart, liver, kidneys, lungs, spleen?

Be that as it may, LIMITLESS presents us with a scenario in which a young man, Eddie Morra, happily [or perhaps unhappily; you be the judge if you see the film] comes into possession of a drug which allows him to use all 100% of the intellectual power possible to humans.

Suddenly his life changes from a practicallly homeless man to one of a successful writer, financial advisor, and politician.

Eventually his extraordinary abilities come to the attention of several people, among them, his girl friend Lindy, a Russian mafia money lender, an unscrupulous lawyer, and a business mogul Carl Van Loon who hires Morra to aid him in a business merger which will make Van Loon the most powerful man in the world.

Morra tries to use his new-found mental abilities to enhance his own life but the very fact that he possesses these powers ultimately leads him into antagonistic confrontations with Lindy, the Russian mafia, and Van Loon. Added to this, he realizes that he must deal with the negative side-effects of the drug.

After a reconcilliation with Lindy, it becomes apparent to both Morra and Van Loon that, given his swift political rise to the position of Senator, that he, Eddie Morra, will succeeed to occupying the Oval Office.

Now Eddie must decide how he will handle his life in terms of managing the use of the drug and how he can manage being president of the United States without being manipulated by other people, especially by Van Loon.

The film has some interesting plot twists and the non-stop action of the story keeps the audience entralled and on seat-edge. There are also some very good special effects.


Reviewer Thiago Antinori [on IMDB] writes:

Does a drug like NZT really exist ?
Some of the effects of NZT, like increased productivity and focus or the feeling of having to keep moving forward is similar to the effects of Adderall and Ritalin, but the ability to recall all the memories in your subconscious and/or the ability to process information in an almost superhuman capacity is not an effect of any known drug.
BUT NOTE! It is more than likely that this film is an allegory for our culture that has come to rely heavily on pharmaceuticals to improve our lives.


Cast overview, first billed only:

Bradley Cooper ... Eddie Morra
Robert De Niro... Carl Van Loon
Abbie Cornish... Lindy
Andrew Howard... Gennady
Anna Friel... Melissa
Johnny Whitworth... Vernon
Tomas Arana... Man in Tan Coat
Robert John Burke... Pierce
Darren Goldstein... Kevin Doyle
Ned Eisenberg... Morris Brandt
T.V. Carpio... Valerie
Richard Bekins... Hank Atwood
Patricia Kalember... Mrs. Atwood
Cindy Katz... Marla Sutton
Brian Anthony Wilson... Detective (as Brian A. Wilson)


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