Director: Wes Anderson
Cast
Owen Wilson ... Francis
Adrien Brody ... Peter
Jason Schwartzman ... Jack
Summary:
Three estranged brothers meet on The Darjeeling Limited, a train ride across India looking for enlightenment, and opening old wounds along the way.
Review:
The opening scene fooled me into thinking that Bill Murray was going to have some kind of prominence in this movie, but I was wrong. That's kind of a metaphor for my final opinion on this movie as a whole. I don't really know WHAT do think of Darjeeling Limited. There were some great moments, and it's a pleasantly done feature that has plenty of Andersonisms to it. From frame one to the end credits, it's unmistakable who's movie this is. I also feel that it isn't as impacting upon retrospect compared to his earlier films.
There is a kind of magic in the way he uses aged reds, blues and greens. The design of the train is similar to that of Life Aquatic's ship. There seem to be a number of quirky non-sequitorial set pieces which tell you about who these people are in subtle hints, from the clothes the people wear down to pieces of luggage inside a suitcase. I also liked the non-linear exposition, in which no one says flat out about what has happened in their past. A sentence here, and sentence there, and eventually the reasons behind these brothers meeting for the first time since their father's death a year prior starts to come together. I like the way these clues flew out in small doses within separate conversations in an unforced manner. I also really dug many of the slow motion scenes, including the chase for the train in the opening. India was a proper locale for Anderson's color schemes. It also gives a bit of a foreign presence, but perhaps goes a little far in trying to expose the outcast appearance of these three brothers as they romp through the country. The first couple of times that they were participating in Indian customs amongst all Indian locals was amusing, but eventually wore me down. There are some great shots of the three brothers staring into space (like the pic above), but by the end I got tired of shots of the three brothers staring into space. I wish he'd have removed a few of them, because it got kinda ridiculous.
The fourth character in Darjeeling is the damned luggage. If anything was overemphasized, it was the long running joke of the baggage that they were carrying. I get that it's a metaphor for the emotional baggage these dudes are carrying, but I was thinking more about how they are rich and should just throw all that crap away and save the effort of carrying it around everywhere they went. It was stupid of them to pack so heavily. I get the impression that these guys have NEVER travelled anywhere before. On the other hand, it's only so obvious the reason for having all that baggage comes to a head in the final scene. I'm sure that you can guess what happens.
I didn't laugh as much as I thought I would. The humor is just as dry and unpredictable as its always been, but I felt more pessimism and detachment than humor most of the time. I couldn't help but think about Owen Wilson's real life attempted suicide, and it got me to wondering how much of his depression came through as a writing influence for this AND for The Royal Tenenbaums (even though that time it was Luke Wilson doing the onscreen suicidal antics).
Mixed with the subdued musical score by Satyajit Ray are the quieter sounds of tunes by The Kinks, The Rolling Stones, Peter Sarstedt and others. It fits with the tone of the movie, but at times I felt like he was advertising his versatile tastes. There's also an accident on water that reminds me of something that happened in Life Aquatic. I like the lack of overtly loud noise and mayhem, and instead the way it just cuts off and becomes quieter when the most fatal second reaches its zenith.
Could it be that after five films, I've started to predict too much of Wes Anderson's style, or that he's faltered just a bit from the genius of the past? I don't know. I still liked a lot of Darjeeling Limited, but looking back I have a very ambivalent stance on it. A lot of what I found to be good are also points of negativity for me. I'm still on board for anything that gets made by this crew, but perhaps ensemble cast framing, the "searching for something that I haven't found yet" themes are starting to wax a little thin.
I will conclude with this recommendation: If you really liked what Wes Anderson has done so far, I think you'll at least like The Darjeeling Limited. If you have been on the fence, or just totally hated anything else he's done, then SKIP IT. I highly doubt it will be worth the effort.
Grade: B
Reviewed: 12/27/04