The Darjeeling Limited Review
Posted by Ben Moser on 11.07.2007
How a movie about baggage can be my favorite of the year.
Owen Wilson ... Francis
Adrien Brody ... Peter
Jason Schwartzman ... Jack
Amara Karan ... Rita
Wallace Wolodarsky ... Brendan
Waris Ahluwalia ... The Chief Steward
Irfan Khan ... The Father
Barbet Schroeder ... The Mechanic
Camilla Rutherford ... Alice
Bill Murray ... The Businessman
Anjelica Huston ... Patricia
Natalie Portman ... Jack's X-Girlfriend
Wes Anderson's work is what most would call an acquired taste. Certainly, it seems to have become more polarizing with each new film. After an unheralded offering in Bottle Rocket, everyone adored Rushmore. Then almost everyone loved The Royal Tenenbaums. Then some people really liked The Life Aquatic. If patterns hold, The Darjeeling Limited will end up appealing to even fewer critics. That's a shame.
We open with a short called Hotel Chevalier(previously only available on iTunes, but shown in front of the film now in the wide release) about an awkward encounter between old lovers(Schwartzman and Portman) that you would expect to set the tone for the film that follows. Instead, it serves as a detached piece(which may explain the lengths gone to by Anderson to separate it from the main film) that introduces us to one of the three brothers we'll be joining once the main film starts.
There is a clean tension that Portman and Schwartzman create, taking you in with it and making you feel ill at ease with the characters. Ever farther, the tension is so entirely rife in this opening act that even the sex scene with a nude Natalie Portman comes across as the opposite of sexy, as the tension(not at all sexual anymore, if it ever was) never leaves the screen.
Once The Darjeeling Limited itself begins, you're almost relieved to get to the far less awkward, yet still tense reunion of three brothers; Francis(Owen Wilson), Peter(Adrien Brody), and Jack(Schwartzman). After an accident that put him near death; Francis has decided that the three, who last saw one another a year ago at their father's funeral, need to go on a spiritual train tour through India together.
Wilson, Brody, and Schwartzman are all three heartachingly brilliant in their performances. The brothers, traveling with pieces of their father's huge luggage set, are all damaged in unique ways: Francis physically, Peter by his inability to let his father's death go while he himself is about to becoma a father, and Jack by the dysfunctional relationship we see in Hotel Chevalier. They don't trust one another, don't particularly like one another, and definitely don't connect with each other or any spirituality until their well-defined schedule is ruined by their failings as individuals and as brothers.
The movie has been aesthetically toned down from The Life Aquatic, but still pops off of the screen with the kinds of jarring visuals, locations, and colors you've come to expect from Wes Anderson's films. What mainly stands out is the luggage, which takes on a life of its own as the central metaphor in this film.
Like the visuals, the characters are all also vintage Anderson. From Rita, the "stewardess" on the train to their estranged mother(Anjelica Huston), each carries a quirkiness and weight to serve the journey of the three brothers. There is not a single overstated or otherwise flawed performance, as Anderson seems to have found a perfect mix of his favorites and those new to his work.
In the end, what you're looking at is a comedy. A very good comedy. The heft of the script still makes way for the situational humor and the dialogue to give you laughs. They come in the form of overt gags to subtle character glitches, and often enough to keep the narrative moving along without feeling cumbersome.
All of this works in concert to create a film where you find yourself actually invested in the journey of the characters as well as entertained. You even leave with an odd spring in your step. Not once did I give my watch an even cursory glance, that's how engaging and entertaining the film is. From start to finish, The Darjeeling Limited is flawless and Wes Anderson's best yet. However, if the pattern for critical acceptance of his films holds, it won't be viewed as such. Again, that's a shame.
The 411: Wes Anderson's best work to date takes the best lessons from his previous films them into an entertaining and emotional masterpiece. The performances, the visuals, and the story are all perfect. If you have at all enjoyed any of Anderson's previous films, then watch The Darjeeling Limited multiple times(I've already taken it in twice) as soon as possible.
