The Darjeeling Limited
Directed by: Wes Anderson
Written by: Wes Anderson, Roman Coppola, Jason Schwartzman
Starring: Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody, Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, Barbet Schroeder, Angelica Huston, Amara Khan

Poor Wes Anderson. His filmmaking career took off after the 1998 cult hit Rushmore, with many people hailing his conspicuous style as refreshing, unique and downright brilliant. With each successive film, however, people have become progressively less enthusiastic about his trademark wit and attention to detail (although The Royal Tenenbaums is still arguably his most well-received film to date). Is it because he is getting too self-absorbed and out of touch with his stories, or is it just that audiences have generally been shying away from these kinds of high-brow comedies as of late?

Truth be told, most of Anderson’s films never really appealed to the mainstream. The humour is too subtle and dry, the characters too outrageous, and the visuals too whimsical. But after The Life Aquatic, even the art house crowds started turning against him, thinking he had become a parody of himself.

After taking some time to step back and figure out what’s important to him as a filmmaker, Wes Anderson has returned with The Darjeeling Limited, a tale of three brothers trying to make amends with one another by taking a train ride through India. There were a lot of negative reviews for this film too initially, with people again asserting that he was being too “cute” for his own good. And yet, despite all the familiar faces involved, I was surprised by how different this movie felt for me.

It’s definitely his least accessible movie, as it’s far from being a laugh riot (although there are some funny moments) and the meandering pace of the film could easily turn a lot of viewers off. There’s still an overabundance of attention to detail and intricate sets, and yes, The Kinks on the soundtrack (no Mark Mothersbaugh though) but it just seems to have a sense of freedom to it, unlike anything he has done before. It feels loose and organic, with nothing in it overly forced — evidence of a born filmmaker who decided to let the movie happen as naturally as possible. Doubters will still roll their eyes at hipster touches like the iPod providing the soundtrack and pajamas emblazoned with “The Darjeeling Limited” on them, but I was drawn in by many of the other nuances of the film.

You get the feeling that Anderson really wanted to keep this movie smaller somehow, and I think this is one of the reasons why it works so well. His last couple of movies really had too many important characters to keep track of, but by centering this story on the core of the three brothers, it feels more personal and heartfelt. It’s also less cartoony because it’s primarily dialogue-driven (the movie’s most complex scene was probably the opening with Bill Murray riding a taxi cab through the streets of Jodhpur, India). Although the movie crawls along at points with little to keep you hooked, there’s an underlying a mystery at work, the back story of these brother slowly bubbling to the surface.

Owen Wilson is captivating in this film, and it’s not just because he is covered in bandages the whole time. For me, there was something surreal about this being his first on screen performance since his suicide attempt. I’m not sure if the real-life events gave any additional weight to his character’s emotional state, but he seemed to carry a lot of the film on his shoulders — delivering some of the funniest one-liners, but also driving the plot forward with his need for spiritual enlightenment. He didn’t co-write this film with Anderson though (that credit goes to Roman Coppola and Jason Schwartzman) and perhaps this explains the toned down humour somewhat.

Jason Schwartzman is Jason Schwartzman for the most part (mischievous, mopey and a bit self-centered), but Adrien Brody was a great choice to round out the trio, as he plays the sensible one and also the most susceptible, his acting talent helping to ground the film, particularly at its major turning point (perhaps one of the most successfully dramatic moments in a Wes Anderson film to date).

The cinematography is beautiful and the exotic locales and backdrops are stunning, complemented by a soundtrack borrowed from other Indian films. The only aspect of the film that I wasn’t crazy about was the sort of “extended” conclusion involving Angelica Huston’s character. It just seemed a little too predictable and a sudden retreat back to Anderson’s previous work, just when I thought he was about to go out with a bold and unexpected ending.

Overall though, this is more or less what I wanted to see from Wes Anderson: something new and different that doesn’t completely abandon his roots. Although the theme is one that he has visited over and over again, the movie gives off an intangible aura (spiritual or otherwise) that I haven’t felt from Anderson before. He’s still got plenty of room to go as far as progressing his style, but he has certainly matured as a director, and I declare The Darjeeling Limited another impressive entry to his filmography. — Sean

SCORE:

Recommended If You Like: The Royal Tenenbaums, The River, Nacho Libre

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