Limitless

Directed by Neil Burger

[rating: 2.5/5]

Neil Burger’s new film is billed as yet another cerebral, sci-fi thriller (see Inception, The Adjustment Bureau et al). Unfortunately for a film concerning intelligence and unlimited potential, it is let down by a lack of inventiveness and lazy ideas.

Bradley Cooper (The Hangover) stars as Eddie Morra, the man in possession of NZT, an untested drug that enables the active use of the full capabilities of the brain, instead of the meagre 20% we can normally access. This makes the potential for success, as well as ill-health and severe personal danger, almost limitless.

It is an interesting concept, and feels relevant too given the importance of scientific ethics in the modern era, and, visually speaking, it is explored brilliantly. Though likely to leave some viewers nauseous, the cinematography works well to place us in the perspective of the drug-taker as he passes from inspired to disorientated and back again, while the disjointed way with which we move from scene to scene contributes to the heightening tensions as the dangers of the substance are revealed.

Less impressive is the heavy use of narration. Thanks to its clear and simplified explanations of events and emotions, the scope for either audience interpretation or more adventurous portrayals by the actors is ironically made extremely limited.

Which is a shame given the quality of acting on show. Cooper gives an impressive performance, particularly when dealing with sober ineptitude or crippling desperation for his next fix. Robert De Niro starts quietly but grows into his role as the formidable businessman Carl Van Loon (what’s in a name?).

Yet these casting successes cannot fully compensate for other weaknesses in the script. Morra and his on-off girlfriend (Abbie Cornish), in particular, lack emotional depth, with strangely muted reactions to moral quandaries and unexplained twists in their motivations and actions. That we are unconvinced by many of these actions and emotions unfortunately dents the sense of reality given to the story.

In other ways, too, the film struggles to fully engage or convince the audience: it is difficult to share the paranoia or tense fear experienced by the characters, not least because the almost-invincible intelligence brought by the drug makes escape from most dangers inevitable. Such weaknesses mean that Limitless struggles to justify expectations as a thriller.

Similarly, although the film provides the plot twists that one would expect from a thriller, none are notably mind bending, and some are even rather predictable. The ending, meanwhile, is rather surprising in a negative way, for the final conclusion of Morra’s problems seems unrealistic and at odds with what has come before.

Though it has its moments, Limitless struggles to live up to the expectations of an intelligent thriller set out by its premise. With its interesting concept, inventive camera work and impressive performances, the film sells potential, but it’s largely let down a largely inconsistent script. Perhaps the writers should have used some NZT themselves.

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THE_hhk1Gzc