Sunday, October 28, 2007

The Darjeeling Limited

I think it is about time for Mr. Wes Anderson to change up his style. It feels like we have seen him make The Darjeeling Limited before and it was better the first, second, and maybe even the third time. For me, the cast was also a handicap since I am not a fan of Owen Wilson or Adrien Brody. Combining those points and you can see why The Darjeeling Limited falls into the okay bracket.

Guess what? The Darjeeling Limited is about the relationship between family members and it’s quirky and it includes an elaborate set and there are numerous familiar faces and just feels like a Xerox of a Xerox. This time around we have three brothers who haven’t spoken to each other since their father died. Each of these brothers has their own personal issues, suicide attempt, child on the way, bad relationship, and all of them act off in some way. The first half of the film takes place on a cramped train, the Darjeeling Limited, so Anderson gets to have a nice elaborate set to shoot in. Who are the regulars popping up? This time it’s Owen Wilson, Jason Schwartzman, Anjelica Huston, and a quick cameo for Bill Murray. It is still funny in parts and touching at other times, but none of it feels fresh or new.


I will admit that my dislike of Owen Wilson and Adrien Brody probably prevented me from ever becoming a champion of the film. It is also didn’t help that Wilson just attempted suicide in real life so you get to have those uncomfortable moments where you think life and cinema are becoming indistinguishable. That and I just don’t find him funny. As for Adrien Brody, I had no opinion of him before The Village but since that point in time I will continue to hold that movie against him until he has a performance that forces me to rethink my position. That movie will probably be The Brothers Bloom since it is Rian Johnson’s first movie since Brick. Brody did fit into the Anderson style since he was quirky enough with the glasses and whatnot. The third brother is played by Schwartzman and this is the type of movie that he excels at. It really comes down to whether you like these three and you enjoy Wes Anderson, if so then this was a great time.

Sadly, I would like to say that the best part of The Darjeeling Limited was naked Natalie Portman but I can't. She is getting thin enough to see her internal organs. I can't support that. It was still nice to see her for the 10 minute short before the main film but I would have preferred her to play a significant role in the feature. It may have improved my opinion of The Darjeeling Limited. But she wasn't and we got what we got.

6 out of 10

No comments:

Post a Comment