À bord du Darjeeling Limited

Wes Anderson's greatest strength as a filmmaker, in my opinion, is his ability to elevate something simple and basic into something majestic and extraordinary.

The Darjeeling Limited is a simple story about three brothers who go on an international trip to find peace in their minds and relationships; which we've already witnessed countless times before, but the way it has been told & presented to us is quite remarkable to say the least.

Mr Anderson has brought his oddities, his trademark quirkiness, and made his movie stand out from the crowd, making it distinctive. Furthermore, the three leads' electrifying chemistry makes it all the more lively and exciting.

This movie is absolutely hilarious if you enjoy dry, intellectual humor that sometimes takes a moment to sink in. The comedy is not upfront, but is often derived from the situations the characters find themselves in, or even the response of auxiliary characters to the main characters' actions (like all Wes Anderson movies). Also like all Wes Anderson movies the characters' words are blunt, but the overall meaning of the film is abstract with room for individual viewers to experience it as they will. If new to Wes Anderson films, I would recommend The Life Aquatic or Moonrise Kingdom to get acquainted with the style before The Darjeeling Limited. Points were only detracted here, in my opinion, for lack of development of certain scenes and an overall limited plot (albeit expanded by the ample opportunities for extrapolations on the part of the viewer). In short, I would highly recommend - especially for anyone who already knows they love Wes Anderson films.

I am a fan of Wes Anderson's movies. I liked all his previous offerings: Bottle Rocket, Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums and The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. Rushmore, in particular, was superb. All had a similar structure: character-driven, rather than plot-driven, dramas with moments of offbeat comedy and quaint bitter-sweet pictures of everyday people and the ups and downs of their lives.

The Darjeeling Limited is no exception, in terms of structure, and for the first half of the movie promises to be at least as good as his best (i.e. Rushmore, for me). However, it loses direction, focus and momentum in the second half, to the point that I was eagerly waiting for it to end.

It could have been a lot better.

Given the trademark quirkiness yet insight into many profound truths of human behaviour one would expect from director Wes Anderson, it should come as no surprise that his latest film, The Darjeeling Limited, demonstrates the majority of these traits with particular flair and distinction, arguably Anderson's strongest work to date.

The typically disjointed plot details three brothers (Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody and Jason Schwartzman) who, in an attempt to bridge the gap between them, embark on a "spiritual journey" across India by train. Of course, considering Anderson's tendency towards offbeat comedic situations, and a series of problems involving Indian cough syrup, a poisonous cobra and pepper spray, the journey does not, of course, go as planned, and the brothers are forced to cope with their increasingly difficult situation and each other in turn.

Do not mistake the film for the conventional road trip buddy comedy it may appear to be - Anderson is far too eclectic and clever to subscribe to such traditional fare, and his film is instead a far more emotional effort. With a particular knack for intricate character and storyline development, Anderson's script carefully doles out tidbits of character history throughout, painting a gradual and remarkably detailed portrait of the central characters as the film progresses. Though the film may drag or feel as if it falls slightly short of its true potential at times, on the whole it is far to easy to be swept up by the film to dwell on such minor concerns.

The gorgeous Indian scenery is captured with particular affection by Anderson's jarring cinematography and sharp eye for intriguing colour schemes. The film's wonderfully fitting soundtrack perfectly compliments the sublime visuals, making for one of the most aesthetically pleasing films in recent memory.

The central three actors are the real draw of the film, and all three boast excellent chemistry throughout. Owen Wilson, as usual, is effortlessly funny as spiritually obsessive control freak Francis, but also brings a tragic undercurrent to his character, made more poignant due to recent real life events out of character. A superb Adrien Brody steals the show as the emotionally unstable soon to be father Pete, demonstrating both previously unseen comedic abilities, and genuinely affecting emotional clout. As bitter writer Jack, Jason Schwartzman proves proficient at raising many a laugh, but despite his strong performance is easily overshone by his two co-stars during the film's dramatic moments. Watch also for amusing cameos from Bill Murray and Natalie Portman (featured more significantly in the film's 13 minute prequel found online at www.hotelchevalier.com), and a somewhat forced supporting role from Angelica Huston near the end.

Like the rest of Anderson's other work, audiences will likely either love it or hate it. This is not a typical belly laugh evoking comedy à-la-Superbad - the humour present is more sly and chuckle worthy, and prides itself more on precisely crafted characters and situations than sight gags and one liners. Those willing to appreciate the film for what it is will enjoy an intelligent and touching spiritual meditation on family, and life in general. The joy is in the journey, and a journey as quirky and sentimental as this is one easily worth taking - for those willing to put forth the effort to overcome mainstream expectations, the film will not disappoint.

-8/10

After three viewings of "The Darjeeling Limited" I find myself quite certain that this is not Wes Anderson's best film in the sense that it's not his best-paced film and it may have some moments that are a little too heavy-handed. However, I find that these little flaws add to the charm of the film because of the way it is constructed and written. It almost feels like one is part of the journey and since no journey of this sort is perfect or fully enjoyable it's almost fitting that this film isn't

I laughed out loud more during "The Darjeeling Limited" than during any other Wes Anderson movie, although "Rushmore" is probably more of an outright comedy. This screenplay wasn't written with Owen Wilson, as Anderson instead chose to team up with Roman Coppola and Jason Schwartzman for this project, presumably due to Wilson being too busy to do it. The result is a slightly inconsistent (and, as mentioned before, heavy-handed) screenplay but one with loads of delicious irony, wit, and dry humor. It's great stuff, really. There is a lot of depth to be found here as well, especially with Anderson's use of recurrent imagery in the film. There is perhaps more maturity and understanding of human nature here than in any previous Wes Anderson films.

The acting is once again top-notch here from Brody, Wilson, and Schwartzman, and Anderson's use of music is again incredibly fitting and beautiful while also being perhaps less frequent and distracting than his other films, allowing less room for accusations detractors frequently make that Anderson is nothing more than a glorified music video director. Also of note while discussing music is the use of various Satyajit Ray compositions in an acknowledgment of one of his cinematic idols and main inspirations, not only for this film but in general.

"The Darjeeling Limited" demands multiple viewings. It is a rich, complex, detailed, and gorgeous film which is a unique and fascinating look at some familiar thematic material recurrent in Anderson's work. It's not a perfect film, but it's definitely one of the best films of the year.