The Darjeeling Limited

A luxurious French hotel room, a naked Natalie Portman, and a bout of makeup sex. So begins one of Wes Anderson’s more recent films, The Darjeeling Limited. (Note: this is technically from the short Hotel Chevalier: Darjeeling Limited Part I. Why did Anderson make the first part of the movie a separate short? I have no idea!)

Darjeeling, nestled between releases of Anderson’s The Life Aquatic and the more audience-friendly animated feature Fantastic Mr. Fox, is a story of relationships and discovery. Too broad? It might be, if it didn’t work so nicely within the overall “feel” of the film. During the film, three brothers Francis (Owen Wilson), Peter (Adrien Brody), and Jack (Jason Schwartzman) travel to India after the loss of their father and meander throughout the country by train in search of their mother. And meander is precisely what this film does. In a way, the entire film seems like a fun, meandering train ride. And Anderson’s train ride is an enjoyable one, even if the film’s point is sometimes lost on the audience.

The characters make this movie. Most of the film’s value lies in the fascinating personality of each brother and how the brothers interact with one another. The intricacies of the brother relationship make the film seem all the more authentic. For example, how Peter refuses to tell Francis about his baby, or how Jack won’t admit the novel he has written is based on his life (“All the characters are entirely fictional”, he often repeats). In this way, the audience quickly understands the family dynamics as we watch how each brother reacts and talks to the others. The characters are instantly entertaining and have little trouble in capturing audience attention. The film begins and we are swept into Anderson’s quirky universe.

In auteur-like fashion, Anderson’s return in Darjeeling shows he has his trademark style down to a science. Anderson’s trademark camera angles and movements are back. Every scene is visually sleek and simplistic. Audience members familiar with Anderson’s previous Rushmore and The Royal Tenenbaums will surely recognize as depressed and dispirited main characters with relationship and personal issues appear alongside a cool, alternative, sometimes old-school soundtrack (although this movie does make use of many foreign songs to fit in with the Indian theme).

The movie is funny, but some of the funnier bits may be lost on some audience members due to their deadpan delivery. However, Darjeeling is not a comedy. At its heart, the movie wants to be sincere. Although it may not be everyone’s “cup of tea”, The Darjeeling Limited is a success. If you like Anderson’s style, you’ll almost certainly like this film.