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REVIEWS

Limitless

Jovana J. Grbić, C&EN Contributing Editor

poster "What kind of a guy without a drug or alcohol problem looks like this?" ponders a disheveled, unkempt Eddie Morra (Cooper) in the new film "Limitless." Since he's obviously never met a scientist desperate to publish, he self-responds: a writer. Mired in writer's block with a looming book contract, living in a New York City rat hole, and dumped by his successful bankroller/girlfriend (Cornish), Morra is a prototype of every hard-up creative in the absolute nadir of his or her career.

Seemingly by chance, Morra bumps into his ex-brother-in-law Vernon (Whitworth), a former drug dealer now "consulting" for a pharmaceutical company. He promises Eddie salvation for all his troubles: NZT48, a new miracle drug under development and clinical trial that activates brain receptors and circuitry to achieve 100% neuronal function. A desperate Eddie takes the chance. Through some clever color cinematography, the moviegoer takes part in Eddie's miracle; 12 hours later, he's written half of his book, cleaned out his apartment, and gotten back in the good graces of his landlord. He is a new person.

Craving more of his creative panacea, Eddie seeks Vernon out, to discover that not only is NZT48 not FDA-approved, but it is also being dealt illegally, something that ultimately costs Vernon his life. Now the sole proprietor of an entire stash of NZT48, Eddie becomes the king of the world. He reads books in hours, learns languages and instruments in days, makes millions in the stock market, and becomes an expert of multiple specialties within weeks. His life is limitless. If all of this seems a too good to be true, it is.

With his stash dwindling, Eddie begins to experience side effects—headaches, nausea, vomiting, losses of chunks of time—and needs more and more NZT48 to function at full capacity. He is dismayed to learn that all of the NZT48 users in Vernon's address book, which includes Eddie's ex-wife (Friel), are either dead, dying, or ruined. To top it off, Eddie is now deeply ensconced in a financial trading company, with his new boss Carl Van Loon (De Niro) attempting to broker the biggest merger in corporate history. Leslie Dixon's clever screenplay, based on the novel "The Dark Fields" by Alan Glynn, complicates the science plot with assassination attempts, murder charges, and a layered group of shady characters, all of whom become intertwined with NZT48.

The basic idea of medical science bestowing us with "limitless" brainpower isn't all that crazy, according to University of Minnesota physics professor James Kakalios, author of "The Physics of Superheroes" and "The Amazing Story of Quantum Mechanics." In fact, drugs such as Prozac and other selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors function by changing the brain's basic electrochemistry. Although it is not true that we use only 10 to 20% of our brains (we use all of it at different times), it's only a matter of time before scientific understanding of neurochemistry might outpace the ethical morass of whether such enhancement is appropriate or worth the ensuing side effects, a theme that "Limitless" explores quite well.

The physical deterioration that Eddie experiences is quite possible, but Kakalios suggests that in real life, his character might even end up dumber than he started with a very rapid withdrawal. Without revealing the surprise ending, suffice it to say that NZT48 definitely leaves Eddie's brain permanently altered. And this clever movie will leave viewers with lots of food for thought.

Jovana J. Grbić, Ph.D., is the creative director of ScriptPhD.com, which covers science in entertainment and media, and tweets as @ScriptPhD.