Going Choo Choo All The Way To The Bank

Perhaps one of the most anticipated movies of the year is one that’s selling tickets like wildfire—and no, I’m not talking about a blockbuster movie, but an independent film on limited release by none other than one of the hipsters of cinema, Wes Anderson.

Anderson introduced us to such characters as the Tenenbaums and the dysfunctional father-son relationship of Steve and Ned Zissou in The Life Aquatic in the past, and now he’s introducing us to another family along the same tree.

Three brothers who haven’t spoken since their father’s death set off on a journey across India to come to terms with who they are, and find out why they lost touch in the first place. What comes next is a quest of spirituality, love, humour, and angst as they try and bond before they get to the journey’s end with the confrontation with their mother, who has turned into a nun living in the mountains and skipped the funeral of their father.

The ring leaders of this outfit are Anderson regulars Owen Wilson and Jason Schwartzman with Adrien Brody rounding out the stars in a role that is one you’ve never seen him perform before. But more importantly, these three actors are versatile together in a way that is unforgettable, quickly bouncing lines off each other with a chemistry that is cute and quirky.

While Wilson doesn’t really have a range and acts the same role in every film, it doesn’t seem to bother me as much in Darjeeling Limited. He plays Francis, who set up their journey with his bald staffer, Brendan, and he sets the ball rolling as the leader of the brothers—with his schedule and everything. He’s very funny because of his ailments due from a previous car wreck where he’s bandaged dripping opiates into his mouth throughout the entire movie (with his brothers also on a narcotic at all points).

Schwartzman, who also co-wrote the script with Anderson, plays the romantic one who quickly romances a train attendant on the train. He’s in emotional loss as he keeps checking his ex-girlfriends answering machine, and displaying a lack of trust in his brothers at all times. He’s very interesting and quite funny as he’s the shortest and plumpest of the brothers—at times leading things in humorous directions.

I was curious to see how Adrien Brody would do just because he’s planted himself as a ‘serious’ actor with such films as Son of Sam and The Pianist under his cap, but luckily enough he gives a great performance as the older brother expecting a child with his wife and being skeptical of the trip right from the start. He looks great alongside his brothers, but seems to be the smartest of the three.

One thing you can always take pride in whenever you go to see a Wes Anderson flick is the interesting visuals that you take away. There is a shot identical to the one from The Life Aquatic in this movie where the camera pans from cabin to cabin in the train car checking in on all of the characters and for some reason, the shot is very subtle, but interesting as it’s executed with such flare, much like the rest of the movie.

Don’t expect the movie to take place only on the Darjeeling Limited, either, as the boys get off at stops all around India before obviously embarking on other destinations later in the film and these adventures give a great scope to the film and introduce you to visuals that are as breathtaking as watching a Lord of the Rings movie. But more so, I loved how it was set in India because a lot of that culture oozed all around them as they are meditating in mosques, buying stuff from shops (including a cobra!), and the like. Anderson gave me an image of the Middle-East that isn’t seen too often: as a beautiful place with interesting people and a great culture.

I guess the only thing that I can really brick about The Darjeeling Limited is that towards the end, it got very slow with less humour involved before ending with a solid symbolism. It wasn’t a big deal, but people expecting a laugh ‘til you die film can look elsewhere because Anderson’s films have a rich, warm humour that permeates through every orifice in a smart way that’s much different from American films released nowadays.

The Darjeeling Limited opened in late September, but just expanded last Friday with only one theatre playing it in the entire Portland area. Sure, it's going to be widely released on October 26th, but on the off chance that you want to see it before then, I’d advise you to jump at the chance to see it at one of your local ‘indie’ theatres. Sure, I’m biased because I’m a fan of Anderson’s family value films, but at the same time, with the star power backing it, the great visuals, the genuinely funny nature, and the cameos of Bill Murray and Natalie Portman included, where could you go wrong on this love train?



(c) Jason Haskins, 2007