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Wes Anderson, The Darjeeling Limited

by Kathryn Durfee
10/30/2007

If I remember my Intro to Journalism class syllabus correctly, one of the first major topics is the problem of bias. Well, good thing I'm not a journalism student anymore.

In my humble opinion, Wes Anderson is one of the best directors of our time. Rather than churning out emotionally-empty blockbusters, he has maintained his personal style, taking his time and infusing each film with an incredible attention to detail and heartfelt sentimentality. His characters are typically on some sort of personal journey, from learning how to cope with unrequited love (Rushmore) to tracking down the jaguar shark that killed a beloved partner (The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou). His latest film, The Darjeeling Limited, portrays three American brothers on a spiritual trip through India in hopes of reuniting with one another one year after their father's death.

Francis (Owen Wilson, an Anderson regular) is presumably the oldest of the three. He has suffered massive injuries to the face after a motorcycle accident and is therefore wrapped up in various bandages for almost all of the film. Francis, with the help of his strange assistant Brendan (Wallace Wolodarsky, a writer and produce for The Simpsons), has organized a trip through India for himself and his brothers, whom he hasn't spoken to in a year.

Peter (Adrien Brody) arrives wearing sunglasses that belonged to their father and still contain his prescription lenses. He is already prepared to leave his wife, who is six weeks away from giving birth to their first child. Finally, Jack (Jason Schwartzman, also a favorite of Anderson's) arrives heartbroken from the Hotel Chevalier in Paris. He is so heartbroken, in fact, that he frequently calls to check the messages on his ex-girlfriend's (Natalie Portman) answering machine.

Peter and Jack are skeptical of Francis, but he is determined to reunite the family. Thus, with 11 specially-designed and numbered suitcases previously owned by their father, along with a printer and laminating machine, the brothers set out in search of... something, anything that will bring them together and create a bond. Despite Francis' carefully-planned itineraries, the trip quickly goes off-course (painkillers and a poisonous snake are involved), and the guys begin to think the trip is a bust. It is then that events send them in a different direction, marking the beginning of a new journey.

The Darjeeling Limited is pure Anderson. The film is funny, but not in an obvious way. It is dry wit and situational comedy rather than stupidity and slapstick that gives Darjeeling its flavor. As in The Royal Tenenbaums, Anderson finds humor in the tension found in families that don't really want to be together. Francis is completely obsessive compulsive; he does everything from order meals for his brothers to plan out exactly where they will go and how long they will be there.

This is precisely why neither Jack nor Peter wants to stay for the whole trip. Francis will not give up, and does everything he can to make sure that there are no factions within the group. They fight like boys, wrestling around a tiny train compartment and using each other's secrets as weapons. Francis reveals his m.o. halfway through the trip: the end of the journey will bring them to the door of the monastery where their mother (Angelica Huston) has been living. She does not want them to come, but they decide to visit anyway, finally feeling a connection to one another.

One of the most memorable features of Darjeeling is India's role. The country is another character here; this is not the touristy Taj-Mahal India, but is instead the real thing. Once the brothers are kicked off of the fanciful train, an art director's dream, they find themselves immersed in this colorful culture. Anderson and Schwartzman made a journey of their own through India while writing the film, so they had a sense going in of what should be featured prominently. The markets and holy sites are bustling with people, young boys play cricket with a tennis ball, and women wearing shrouds string flowers in long chains.

The soundtrack, provided mostly by Jack's portable iPod speaker set, celebrates Indian music from the films of Satjajit Ray and Nityananda Datta. Of course, there are a few classic rock songs thrown in: "Strangers" by The Kinks, and "Play with Fire" by The Rolling Stones. These songs are perfect accents to Anderson's characteristic close-ups and slow-motion action sequences.

In addition to the setting, Darjeeling's casting works well. Schwartzman and Wilson are familiar faces in Anderson's work. Schwartzman played the perpetual student in Rushmore, and Wilson appeared in both The Royal Tenenbaums and The Life Aquatic. Both have also worked as writers with Anderson. Adrien Brody is new to the gang, but fits right in. He is hilariously humorless, constantly flipping his sunglasses down on his nose or up on his forehead. Wilson should be admired for enduring an entire shoot with his head wrapped in bandages.

Schwartzman also appears in Hotel Chevalier, the short film that precedes Darjeeling. Hotel offers background information on his character, including a glimpse at his relationship with the infamous ex. And yes, Natalie Portman appears nude. It is tastefully done in a very European style: she doesn't give it all away, yet it is still quite obvious that she is naked while the man is fully dressed. Bill Murray makes a short appearance at both the beginning and the end of Darjeeling, credited only as "the Businessman." Considering I could watch him wash dishes, a little Bill Murray is better than none.

When it's all said and done, Darjeeling wanders. The three brothers seem to be meandering through life while coping with the loss of their father, but are now just meandering together through a foreign country. Those in the audience looking for a tight narrative perfectly packaged for mass consumption will be disappointed.

Hopefully, however, those people were weeded out in screenings of previous Anderson films, all of which require an appreciation of both art cinema and a general sense of eccentricity and quirkiness. The film, though only 91 minutes long (no ever-painful "movie butt" for me this morning!), allows the story to unfold at its own pace. Life can't really be planned for, so why should a movie with such a realistic portrayal of an estranged family follow all the rules?

Even though the plot is peppered with Anderson's typically wacky events and unlikely circumstances, Darjeeling features an honest and realistic script. This is combined with a portrayal of India that is both exotic and fanciful, creating a film so charming that you are more than happy to take part in the journey.

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