While Limitless is a slickly-made sci-fi drama starring Bradley Cooper, it’s also, Ryan writes, a Faustian tale for the modern age...
There are some stories that remain so powerful that, in spite of being told over and over again, they continue to resonate down the centuries. One such story is Faust , the German folk tale about an academic who sells his soul to the devil to quench his thirst for knowledge.
A story that has been in print ever since the birth of the first printing presses, Faust has been reinterpreted by numerous writers, most famously in Christopher Marlowe’s play, The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus (1604), and later in Johann Goethe’s tragedy, simply called Faust .
In each instance, the details of the story change, but the underlying skeleton remains intact. The protagonist’s desire for greater knowledge prompts him to compromise his morals in order to obtain it. Depending on the writer, Faust is ultimately either damned for all eternity, or in the case of Goethe’s story, redeemed by the grace of God.
It’s a story that continues to endure even in the 21st century, and Neil Burger’s film, Limitless , is essentially a rendering of Faust for a secular era.
Bradley Cooper stars as Eddie Morra, a dishevelled author whose life is sliding out of his control. His flat’s a mess, he’s developed a nasty case of writer’s block, and his girlfriend Lindy (Abbie Cornish) has lost patience with his directionless approach to existence.
With Eddie established as the Faust analogue of the piece, you can be sure that an envoy of the Devil will soon appear. And just when Eddie’s situation seems hopeless, along comes the oleaginous brother of his ex-wife, Vernon Gant. He offers Eddie what appears to be the perfect solution: an “FDA approved clever pill” that acts as a kind of super-charger for the mind.
It doesn’t take long for Eddie to make the obvious choice and swallow the little clear capsule, resulting in a transformation that is immediate and dramatic. His brain begins firing like an express train. Suddenly, small details that would have passed by unnoticed begin to take on new significance, and problems that would have once left him hopelessly confused are now easy to solve.
Within a matter of days, he’s completed his novel, made himself rich by playing the stock market, and reignited his relationship with Lindy. But as with any satanic pact, there’s a catch. The clever pills, referred to as NZT, only last for a short amount of time, and much of the film’s most intense moments involve Eddie’s desperate attempts to get hold of fresh quantities of the drug, or remain one step ahead of a group of mafia thugs he’s rather foolishly borrowed money from.
It’s an urgent, cleverly written film, and all the better for its cunning usage of a centuries old folk tale, which marries the structure of Faust with modern-day allusions to drug addiction. The scenes of Eddie’s suddenly boosted intelligence and lucidity are brought to life through rapid cuts and jarring cinematography. On NZT, Eddie’s an entire other person.
Limitless is a reminder, in fact, of why the story of Faust remains so resonant. The landscape of our culture may have changed at an extraordinary pace over the past few decades, but our subconscious desires remain the same, even in our know-it-all age of the Internet. In one form or another, most of us are either desperate to obtain something we can’t have, or have access to an infinite supply of something we already do.
The pages of our newspapers are filled with Faustian tales. Of celebrities who have risen to the height of success, only to come crashing back down again due to sundry addictions or their own hubris. And most recently, we’ve seen that the owners of those newspapers can suffer the same ignominious fate, too.
This is, perhaps, why Faust is such a compelling character, in spite of his greed, since his hunger is broadly the same as ours. By the same token, Eddie Morra’s desire to get his novel written, clean up his flat and win his girlfriend back are immediately relatable, as is his later weakness for the trappings of success.
Limitless , then, is a Faust for the era of the Internet and designer drugs. While not a perfect movie, it’s most definitely an exciting and well-made one, with a well-drawn character at its centre who remains sympathetic and relatable even in the face of his own insane decisions.
If we were in Eddie’s position, most of us would take the clear pill without a second thought. The Faustian pact at the heart of Limitless is one that almost anyone can relate to, and that’s what makes it such an eminently watchable film.
Limitless is out on DVD and Blu-ray on 1 August, and is available to rent now exclusively at Blockbuster.co.uk .
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