Thrills, spills and pills

Rating: 7/10 (17 March 2011)

Neil Burger's 'Limitless' is a clever dumb film, which is surprisingly entertaining. It has thrills, spills and pills.
Eddie Morra (Bradley Cooper) is a quotidian New York writer. He lives in a decrepit downtown shack, and hasn't written a word in his 'new' book for longer than he remembers. He can't articulate what his book is supposed to be about, but that doesn't stop his delusional grandeur.
One day, Eddie bumps into his ex-brother-in-law. They exchange some obsequious patter, before the ex sees Eddie for what he is: a bum. Pitying him, the ex offers him a pill that will change his life forever.
Don't ask me how the pill works. Don't even ask the filmmakers. Just know that it does work. The pill enables Eddie to access 100% of his brain, instead of the customary 20%. Random trivia subconsciously stored long ago can now be instantly recalled. Eddie's potential is potentially limitless.
We see many examples (the most enjoyable bits) of what these $800 pills can do. Eddie writes his book in four days, extemporises at the piano in three, and learns to speak several languages. He's now the smartest person in the world (implied, not asserted). It's not long before he makes the obvious connection to money. He schmoozes his way into a top energy firm, under the supervision of Carl Van Loon (Robert De Niro).
Being the great bastion of solicitude that it is, Hollywood takes its responsibility of highlighting the ills of drug abuse – even one that gives the user genuine powers – seriously. The pill lasts only a few hours, and addiction causes grotesque side-effects.
It gets a bit far-fetched when others start taking the pill, and the penultimate scene (which could have been the ending, but thank goodness it wasn't) is profoundly awful. I won't even hint at what it includes; I want you to shriek in disbelief as I did. Absurdity abounds, but it's not a fault because it's within context. Smart dialogue covers up many of the contrivances, and De Niro does more here than he has done for years: he acts without mugging.
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