The Darjeeling Limited Review

I’m a Wes Anderson fan. As I already mentioned, I wouldn’t be out seeing Wes Anderson movies if I didn’t think I would like them, so of course I loved The Darjeeling Limited.

Critics say he makes the same movie every time, but so what if he does? The one movie he makes is visually dynamic, has great music, deadpan humor, and gets better after multiple viewings. And there’s only five of them, so in the face of multiple action blockbusters, crappy teen comedies, and torture-porn horror movies among a billion different easily recognizable Hollywood tropes, five of them isn’t enough, if you ask me.

As to the specifics of this one: if you’ve seen any of the trailers or tv spots, then you know pretty much the entire plot: Jason Schwartzman, Adrien Brody, and Owen Wilson play three brothers reconnecting on the titular train in India, a year after their father’s funeral. That’s pretty much it- the plot takes many different soap opera like reveals and twists, but the usual disaffection keeps the tone of the movie more dark comic than maudlin.

Schwartzman and Brody deliver similar brooding turns as men getting over a breakup and dealing with impending fatherhood, respectively. But Wilson is the best as the oldest brother, who deals with a motorcycle accident by taking fastidious control of their trip, with a laminated itinerary and asking for control over their personal decisions.

The near-OCD of Wilson’s character is an obvious surrogate for Anderson’s detail-oriented, precise directorial style: Wilson even holds onto his brother’s passports for safekeeping. In a telling scene near the film’s conclusion, he offers them back, but they smile and say it’s all right if he holds onto them- Anderson giving himself tacit approval.

And why not? The basics of the film are a little sparse and simple, but any lack of subtext is made up by the backdrop. Darjeeling is a wonderful land’s-eye view of India, better than a tour guide and full of tourists’ awed reverence. The high point of the film is an encounter with The Namesake’s Irfa Khann and the rest of a small village, which plays out for ten full minutes with no English dialogue, and no subtitles.

It would be fascinating enough on the travel channel. So while the film itself, at least after one viewing, is arguably Anderson’s least complex (there’s a lot of obvious metaphors, from the several pieces of the father’s luggage they carry around to Wilson’s character removing his wound dressings and saying “I guess I have a lot of healing left to do.”), the feel of the film is deep and meditative.

So definitely try to catch this one.

But if you didn’t like Bottle Rocket, Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums, or The Life Aquatic, then I don’t know what to tell you.

When to See It: As Soon As Humanly Possible

Hotel Chevalier

So in lieu of The Darjeeling Limited itself, yesterday I downloaded Hotel Chevalier, the thirteen minute prologue to it, of sorts. It's free on iTunes.

Obviously, it's not much of a film on its own- I thought of it sort of like an appetizer, a digital precursor to keep us going until the film reaches our respective towns.

And for what it is, it works- Wes Anderson is better at tortured father-son dynamics and family issues in general than tortured relationships, as the awkwardness between Natalie Portman and Jason Schwartzman indicates. But the colors in room 403 of the eponymous hotel are well coordinated, and there's as ever a cool song: "Where Do You Go To (My Lovely)," by Peter Sarstedt.

But even if this were crappy, I still think it's an innovative way to generate interest- The best trailers, in my opinion, are the ones that just show part of the film (like this one for The Devil Wears Prada), so a short film that accompanies the movie is even better.

And if you're not familiar with Wes Anderson movies at all, it would be a great litmus test for you, since it contains the sort of artificial detachment that people tend to find insufferable, as well as the music and artfully framed shots that people like.

New York/LA can suck an egg

Ah, well. It doesn't look like I'll have a review for you this weekend, since only our privileged coastal brethren get the opening of The Darjeeling Limited and Lust Caution, respectively. For anyone in town who wants to know, Milwaukee gets Lust on October 12th, and Darjeeling on October 19th. So I'll probably post reviews that are way later than the mass of internet reviews out there much later, but if you read them it'll make me feel a lot better.

Anyway, I couldn't help but glance at the reviews for The Darjeeling Limited to see where the magic number on Rotten Tomatoes would fall this time- the verdict so far: 68%, but the "cream of the crop," which is to say the more respectable, accredited members of the critical population have it at 50%.

Whatever. Wes Anderson makes the same movie every time, and that's fine with me- for reference, see this Onion Article: "New Wes Anderson Film Features Deadpan Delivery, Meticulous Art Direction, Characters With Father Issues."

It's like escargot: some people like it, others don't. If you try it once and don't like it, good for you. If you try it five times and still don't like it, why are you still talking to me? I know it's a critic's job to honestly assess each film, and that a director's previous films should enter the equation somewhat, but honestly: Snakes on a Plane gets a free pass at 69% but The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou is mixed at 52%? I think even Wes Anderson at this point is only aiming for Wes Anderson fans.

That's why I'm here for you- I probably won't pay money to see something I'm not going to like, so I won't waste your time telling you had bad the new Farrelly Brothers movie is. And if you don't want to know how awesome The Darjeeling Limited was (in three weeks), it's not on you to read about it, either.