Limitless (2011)Limitless is a slick, inventive high-concept thriller released in 2011 and directed by Neil Burger, adapted from Alan Glynn's novel The Dark Fields by screenwriter Leslie Dixon. Bradley Cooper stars as Eddie Morra, a blocked, directionless writer in New York who is introduced to NZT-48 — a classified nootropic drug that grants access to 100% of the brain's capacity. Within days Eddie has finished his novel, mastered languages, conquered the stock market and attracted the attention of powerful financier Carl Van Loon (Robert De Niro). But the drug has side effects, and the people who want it back are dangerous. The film grossed over $161 million worldwide and is a genuinely entertaining, visually inventive thriller that uses its high concept with real intelligence. Burger's direction — particularly his use of zooming, colour grading and visual distortion to represent Eddie's enhanced state — gives the film a distinctive, kinetic energy.Highlights Bradley Cooper's performance — A star-making turn; Cooper's transformation from shambling failure to hyper-confident genius is completely convincing and he carries the film's increasingly complex moral landscape with real charisma and intelligence. The NZT visual language — Burger and cinematographer Jo Willems develop a distinctive visual grammar for Eddie's enhanced state — saturated colours, infinite zoom shots, accelerated cutting — that makes the drug's effects genuinely seductive on screen. Robert De Niro as Van Loon — A controlled, authoritative performance that gives the film's second half real dramatic weight; De Niro's scenes with Cooper crackle with the tension of two very different kinds of intelligence in the same room. The stock market sequences — Burger makes the abstract world of high finance viscerally exciting; Eddie's rapid ascent through Wall Street is one of the film's most enjoyable and inventively staged sections. The ending — Deliberately ambiguous and more morally complex than the premise initially suggests; the film's final scene reframes Eddie's journey in a way that rewards reflection and distinguishes it from standard genre fare. Disc Details Title: Limitless Year: 2011 Director: Neil Burger Cast: Bradley Cooper, Robert De Niro, Abbie Cornish, Andrew Howard Studio: Relativity Media / Virgin Produced Certificate: 15 Region: Region B (UK) Format: Blu-ray Runtime: 105 minutes Genre: Science Fiction / Thriller Barcode: 5060116726619 ConditionCondition: VG/VG — see our Condition Grading Guide.Browse our full range of Blu-ray titles. You might also enjoy our Compact Discs or Vinyl Records.
