Abbie Cornish

Limitless is a new CBS television series starring Jake McDorman (Shameless) as a washed up musician who discovers NZT-48, a smart drug that can raise a person’s IQ to four digits and turn them into a super soldier. The show is based on the Bradley Cooper starring cinematic feature of the same name, which in turn is based on the novel The Dark Fields. Cooper, who is executive producer, makes a cameo appearance, reprising his role as Edward Morra, the underachieving writer who has his fortunes turned around after discovering the potentials of a brain boosting drug. The plot of the TV show picks up four years from where the film leaves off, during which time Edward Morra has become a U.S. Senator, thanks to a refined version of NZT-48 which he takes on a daily basis. Morra now wants to turn Brian Finch (McDorman) into his drug addicted protege. But Finch has a problem, being wanted by the FBI as a suspect in a murder, for which he is innocent. Finch uses the super drug to enhance his cognitive abilities in a desperate attempt to solve the case before the FBI finger him for the crime. The show is based on a truly quirky premise and the slick direction by Marc Webb (The Amazing Spiderman) makes it a standout amongst the fall season offerings. A tongue-n-cheek awareness of its own hyperbole is certainly refreshing. Wether it can maintain its uniqueness, or descend into formulaic police procedural, will be a tough call. Certainly, recurring cameo appearances by Bradley Cooper…

The voiceovers are the actors Wishaw and Cornish reading out Keats and Fanny’s letters to each other. The letters Wishaw reads are the actual letters Keats sent to Fanny, however Cornish’s are written by Campion, as Keats destroyed all Fanny’s unopened letters to him before he died. The music used is naturalistic – Mozart’s Serenade K361 – played by one, or occasionally two, cellos. This is played inexpertly, simply as it would have been played at the time. Campion uses this simplicity, combined…