B-
Directed by Wes Anderson
In the amazing Wes Anderson's latest work the director of such quirky classics as "Rushmore" and "The Royal Tenenbaums" shows us some flashes of brilliance while unfortunately delivering a film that is uneven and emotionally vacant.
Owen Wilson plays Francis Whitman, a rich New Yorker who organizes a train trip through India with his brothers Jack (Jasdon Schwartzman)and Peter (Adrien Brody), hoping to reconnect with his siblings on a journey of 'spiritual enlightenment.' It quickly becomes apparent, however, that neither Jack nor Peter particularly want to be on the trip as both of them have bigger issues going on back home. Despite Jack and Peter's reluctance, the trip carries on, not without some difficulties, until Francis lets his brothers know that their trip may have had an ulterior motive (involving Angelica Huston!)
I doubt Wes Anderson will ever make a film that I don't enjoy on some level. His aesthetic is so unique and the tone of his films so fresh and so unlike anything else being produced today that there is always something great to be found in a Wes Anderson picture, even in one of his lesser works. In the case of "The Darjeeling Limited" there is certainly plenty to enjoy, from the often hilarious interplay between Shwartzman, Brody, and Wilson to the meticulous detail Anderson brings to the film, a trademark of his that never ceases to delight. Despite all this, however, "The Darjeeling Limited" is still a vacuous movie that almost completely fails to deliver anything of emotional weight, a comedy that attempts to veer into the bittersweet territory of "Rushmore" and "The Royal Tenenbaums" but is much more akin to "The Life Aquatic" in its tone-- amazing, until it attempts to get serious. Like all of Anderson's films, "The Darjeeling Limited" deals primarily with individuals seeking a father (or in this case, mother) figure, be it one that is connected to them biologically (Life Aquatic, Royal Tenenbaums, The Darjeeling Limited) or not (Rushmore, Bottle Rocket). The problem with "The Darjeeling Limited" is that the brothers yearning for a parental figure is never palpable so when they finally do reconnect with their mother, we are neither moved nor really care. Nevertheless, I think that watching a Wes Anderson film to derive something deep out of it is likely an error and his work should be enjoyed for what he does best, namely recreate hermetic worlds that are familiar yet strangely and wonderfully foreign, something Anderson does better than anyone.
In the amazing Wes Anderson's latest work the director of such quirky classics as "Rushmore" and "The Royal Tenenbaums" shows us some flashes of brilliance while unfortunately delivering a film that is uneven and emotionally vacant.
Owen Wilson plays Francis Whitman, a rich New Yorker who organizes a train trip through India with his brothers Jack (Jasdon Schwartzman)and Peter (Adrien Brody), hoping to reconnect with his siblings on a journey of 'spiritual enlightenment.' It quickly becomes apparent, however, that neither Jack nor Peter particularly want to be on the trip as both of them have bigger issues going on back home. Despite Jack and Peter's reluctance, the trip carries on, not without some difficulties, until Francis lets his brothers know that their trip may have had an ulterior motive (involving Angelica Huston!)
I doubt Wes Anderson will ever make a film that I don't enjoy on some level. His aesthetic is so unique and the tone of his films so fresh and so unlike anything else being produced today that there is always something great to be found in a Wes Anderson picture, even in one of his lesser works. In the case of "The Darjeeling Limited" there is certainly plenty to enjoy, from the often hilarious interplay between Shwartzman, Brody, and Wilson to the meticulous detail Anderson brings to the film, a trademark of his that never ceases to delight. Despite all this, however, "The Darjeeling Limited" is still a vacuous movie that almost completely fails to deliver anything of emotional weight, a comedy that attempts to veer into the bittersweet territory of "Rushmore" and "The Royal Tenenbaums" but is much more akin to "The Life Aquatic" in its tone-- amazing, until it attempts to get serious. Like all of Anderson's films, "The Darjeeling Limited" deals primarily with individuals seeking a father (or in this case, mother) figure, be it one that is connected to them biologically (Life Aquatic, Royal Tenenbaums, The Darjeeling Limited) or not (Rushmore, Bottle Rocket). The problem with "The Darjeeling Limited" is that the brothers yearning for a parental figure is never palpable so when they finally do reconnect with their mother, we are neither moved nor really care. Nevertheless, I think that watching a Wes Anderson film to derive something deep out of it is likely an error and his work should be enjoyed for what he does best, namely recreate hermetic worlds that are familiar yet strangely and wonderfully foreign, something Anderson does better than anyone.
2 comments:
This is one of those films that I did not make it through, and I like Owen Wilson. I thought it would be funny, but it ended up being so weird I turned it off. Just couldn't figure out what was going on.
I'm a Wes Anderson fan but this wasn't a very good effort. I loved the detail in TDL but the film was pretty vacuous.
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