'Darjeeling Limited' chugs toward enlightenment

For a reason not immediately apparent, three brothers' relationship is off the tracks until they climb aboard The Darjeeling Limited.

By Steve Persall, Times film critic
Published October 25, 2007

Review

The Darjeeling Limited

Grade: B

Director: Wes Anderson

Cast: Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody, Jason Schwartzman, Amara Karan, Wallace Wolodarsky, Waris Ahluwalia, Anjelica Huston

Screenplay: Wes Anderson, Jason Schwartzman, Roman Coppola

Rating: R; profanity, sexual situations

Running time: 91 min.

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The Darjeeling Limited, like most of director Wes Anderson's films, deserves more than one viewing because there's something lovely happening beneath the self-conscious camera moves and deceptively simple dialogue.

It is as elusive as the enlightenment three estranged brothers seek on a train trek through India. But it is there, smothered in cynical whimsy, waiting to be discovered.

Anderson is the only filmmaker I'll grade on a speculation curve, knowing that his Bottle Rocket, Rushmore and The Royal Tenenbaums became richer on second look. His The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou is an exception; it doesn't merit further review.

The brothers in his new film - Francis (Owen Wilson), Peter (Adrien Brody) and Jack (Jason Schwartzman) - haven't communicated in a year. Francis, a successful businessman, has arranged their trip with compulsive detail. His recent brush with death made it necessary (and, yes, Wilson's recent suicide attempt is an unfortunate distraction).

Peter and Jack are running away from unwanted relationships. Reuniting with Francis is another.

There isn't a plot per se in The Darjeeling Limited, just a series of fraternal conflicts that prove these guys haven't grown up or forgiven each other for ... something.

The source of friction is revealed late, and subtly. Puzzlement is Anderson's calling card. He makes movies as if we've been there throughout their conception, absorbing his purpose and shorthand.

The train's real destination is the brothers' breakthroughs. Along the way, they needle each other, display a sense of ugly Americanism and slowly reach the end of the line and the start of new lives.

Anderson disguises his feel-good intentions well. Like all his films, The Darjeeling Limited keeps an emotional distance, even in closeups of characters speaking to the lens. These aren't people we'd wish to share a cabin with, although something about them is just like us, exaggerated to absurdity.

The actors are firmly on Anderson's wavelength. Wilson wears silly head bandages from his character's injuries, but he is so sincere about Francis' mystical focus that we don't notice after a while. Brody's angular physique and deadpan delivery make Peter's aimlessness our curiosity. Schwartzman essentially ages his Rushmore character, a privileged schlub overcompensating with hissy fits and libido.

Like all Anderson films, set design and props do much of the work. The train is marvelously cramped and colorful, and the matching Louis Vuitton luggage the brothers tote becomes a silent partner in the muted comedy. Robert D. Yoeman's cinematography admires the landscapes, while a musical score borrowing Satyajit Ray soundtracks is exquisite.

Screenings of The Darjeeling Limited will include Anderson's 13-minute film Hotel Chevalier, a prequel showing Jack's last meeting with a former flame (Natalie Portman). The short film is also available on iTunes.

Not that Hotel Chevalier made The Darjeeling Limited easier to understand, but it is a nice primer to Anderson's cockeyed pessimism.

Steve Persall can be reached at (727) 893-8365 or persall@sptimes.com.

[Last modified October 23, 2007, 17:00:05]