It opens your mind

Rating: 7/10 (19 March 2011)

Someone asked me once what I thought ADD medication does. I thought about it for a second, and replied, "In the simplest terms, it changes your mind." Sometimes, people's minds need changing. More than just a push or a boost, sometimes people need help remembering things, learning new things, making connections between things they already know, motivating themselves to use that information, etc. In the movie "Limitless", there's a pill that does all of that; and much, much, much more. The tagline for this movie is "What if a pill could make you rich and powerful?" I prefer a line from the trailer: "How many of us ever know what it is to become the perfect version of ourselves?" Bradley Cooper plays Eddie Morra, a writer who can't motivate himself to write his book even when he locks himself in a room with his laptop. He doesn't do drugs (anymore), but anyone who looked at him would swear he was always strung out. He doesn't have anything. One day, Vernon (played by Johnny Whitworth), his ex-brother-in-law who is also his ex-dealer, offers him some help: a clear, little round pill that will clear his mind. Within a minute of taking it, Eddie finds he can remember tiny things from years earlier, make connections between little bits of information that he'd never given so much as a second thought, reason with startling eloquence, and most importantly (to him), slam out ninety pages of his book in one sitting that make his publisher beg for more. Does he want more pills after all this? Absolutely. He's not the only one who wants them, though. Despite Vernon's initial claim that the pill is "FDA-approved", it's clear soon enough that this is nothing you'll ever find in a drugstore. Whoever Vernon got it from (and however he got it), Eddie'll likely never know, because Vernon is murdered shortly after he and Eddie reconnect. Eddie finds Vernon's stash of clear little pills and proceeds to make over his life. He'll need every ounce of intelligence the pills can give him, too, to fend off a ruthless loan shark, the police officer who wants to know Eddie's connection to the dead dealer, and whatever shadowy figure is following him from the moment he starts taking the pills. In the meantime, Eddie realizes he can do far more than write books with his newfound intellect. In a few short days, he makes millions on the stock market, bringing him to the attention of Carl Van Loon, one of the wealthiest, most powerful men in the world, played by Robert De Niro. Carl is more than happy to benefit from Eddie's "freak" status, and even cautions Eddie not to push himself too far. Eddie has the brains, but Carl clearly has the experience (and the resources). He warns Eddie to not try and become his competitor (read: enemy). Finally, Eddie has to deal with the drug's side effects. He has waking blackouts, often finding himself across town, in strange locations, with complete strangers and no memory of how he got there. Withdrawal symptoms are worse than your standard medication, obviously, and stopping could mean hospitalization or worse. Since he doesn't know who makes the pills or where to get more, this is his biggest problem. Or would it be worse to stay on the pills? Eddie claims they're just making him into a better version of himself, but are they, in fact, changing who he is? Do they not just change what you can do, but also what you will do? His girlfriend, played by Abbie Cornish, once had to deal with a man who wouldn't do anything; now, she has to deal with a man for whom there's nothing he wouldn't do. The end of the movie leaves the question of just how much the pills change you unanswered. Based on a novel written by Alan Glynn, this movie has plenty of action sequences to complement the moral dilemma it poses: how far will you go to become a "better" version of yourself? Like all the great science fiction movies, this thriller doesn't focus on the sci-fi aspects, choosing instead to highlight the exploration of humanity on which we embark with the very first scene. And anyone who contemplates medication to improve their lives will certainly find a resonance with the character of Eddie Morra. Watching this movie may not change your mind, but it will certainly open it.