"And then I began to form an idea." We never learn Eddie's big idea?
After his daring dive from a cliff into the sea and then resurfacing, we hear Eddie Morra's voiceover:
"And then I began to form an idea. Suddenly I knew exactly what I needed to do. It wasn't writing. It wasn't books. It was much bigger than that. But it would take money to get there."
The very next scene is Eddie getting his startup capital from the loan shark, thus embarking on the main plot-line: his prodigious ascent through Wall Street, which -- after all the twists and turns and after his climactic penthouse fight and the resolution of most conflicts -- culminates in the launch of his political career along with the implication that he's pretty much a lock-down for near-future President.
Even after watching and thoroughly enjoying the film several times, I am still left wondering what exactly Morra meant with his inner-voice epiphany that "suddenly I knew exactly what I needed to do." It seems like in this moment he formulates a masterplan for what he wants to do with his life and how he wants to leverage the fullest potential of his new NZT-enhanced self. He says "it would take money to get there," which suggests that dominating Wall Street was not his lifelong goal but rather just a means to something "bigger".
What really are we supposed to conclude was Eddie's big picture and ultimate goal? To achieve enormous financial success in order to have the resources and reputation to then attain the highest political office in America and become leader of the free world? And then to .... do what exactly??? To build a huge wall and make America great again? To bring back all the best cancelled TV shows? To bang Scarlett Johansson? To become a demi-god?
His cliff-jumping epiphany ("I began to form an idea. Suddenly I knew exactly what I needed to do") is never quite fully answered or resolved by the movie-- at least, not explicitly onscreen. We are (perhaps deliberately) left with room to speculate about what he really intended to do long-term -- and what he may very well do after the credits roll, given that the ending strongly suggests that he is either still on NZT or is at least somehow continuing to avail of its benefits.
My personal theory is that his grand idea goes beyond just aspiring to the top of the money-ego-power totem. I like to think that in the moment of his cliff-diving, Morra reflects on what a quick positive turnaround NZT had on his life (at least up to that point) and he extrapolates this potential to others. Maybe even to a worldwide transhumanist revolution.
Given how much NZT could do for a struggling writer, imagine the accelerated human progress if we gave NZT to Stephen Hawking, Elon Musk and everyone at NASA (we'd have faster-than-light spaceships and a fully terraformed Mars within a year), or if we gave it to our smartest doctors and medical researchers (all diseases cured within a week), or if we gave it to our leading spiritualists and explorers of human consciousness. Imagine what inventions and insights we could unlock and at what speed. We could achieve centuries of progress in the span of a few weeks.
What if Morra were to supply NZT to the human race and multiply the benefits by 7 billion? His character shows a lot of empathy early on, so I think it could be a natural thought process for him to think, "This has been amazing for me... Imagine what the world could look like if every individual could fully unleash their true unique potential."
Or am I naive? Obviously "NZT for all" would not be sustainable for civilization when you have so many types like the loan shark, who would merely use heightened cognition to upgrade from criminal thug to criminal mastermind. Some filters and limits would be necessary, but the question of "who gets to decide who gets the NZT" is itself problematic.
Details of implementation aside, if Morra's final goal is not this utopian ideal, then what, if anything, did Morra really see in his resurfacing vision, and what exactly did he mean by doing "exactly what I needed to do." Is it all about him? Is his character's growth and destiny really just to be a masturbatory Randian ideal -- to become the perfect version of himself, guided by self-interest right to the end?
I think it would be rather anticlimactic and underwhelming if all he ultimately gets out of the story and out of NZT is to basically become a super-charismatic political alpha, a kind of JFK-on-roids. Given the transhumanist tone of the film, I would like to think that his grander vision is to truly elevate humanity into a whole new era of advancement, enlightenment, and fulfillment.
I am very curious to hear from other viewers and fans of the film: do you agree with my interpretation or do you have a different one of your own? What do you think Morra meant by his cliff-diving voiceover... and what, given everything that happens through the rest of the film, do you think his character would actually end up striving for and achieving with all his NZT-enhanced ambitions and gifts?
What's your take?