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Herald Rating: * * *
Cast: Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Wes Anderson
Running time: 104 mins
Rating: M, offensive language & sexual references
Screening: Rialto, Hoyts
Verdict: Quirky, funny and charming but not a great leap forward for film-maker Wes Anderson.
An auteur with a reputation for wry, deadpan humour, damaged characters and whimsical, melancholic tales, there is no doubt Wes Anderson's films are a delightful if somewhat acquired taste. His fifth feature film, The Darjeeling Limited (featuring the short film Hotel Chevalier at the beginning), is a continuation of Anderson's quirky and understated style, and should keep fans of previous outings such as Rushmore and The Royal Tenenbaums happy.
Co-written with Roman Coppola (son of Francis Ford Coppola) and actor Jason Schwartzman (nephew of Francis Ford Coppola), The Darjeeling Limited sees Anderson back on form after a less successful last film, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004).
You'd be forgiven for thinking Anderson has a very small group of friends in Hollywood, or doesn't really trust actors, as this film is filled with familiar faces from his previous films. His sometime-co-writing partner Owen Wilson stars alongside other favourites such as Schwartzman, Anjelica Houston and Bill Murray, but he does add Oscar winner Adrian Brody to this veteran Anderson cast, and he fits in surprisingly well.
The Darjeeling Limited continues Anderson's fascination with parental issues and dysfunctional families, telling the story of three brothers who haven't spoken to each other since their father's funeral a year earlier. The eldest, Francis (Wilson) decides it's time for them all to bond and re-connect with each other, so he summons his brothers Peter (Brody) and Jack (Schwartzman) to join him on a journey across India.
As the three brothers slip back into their own particular family dynamic and become reacquainted with each other, they share the personal dilemmas that have occupied them since their father's death. Francis has been recovering from a near-fatal car crash, Peter is troubled by impending fatherhood and his expectation, due to his upbringing, that his marriage will end in divorce, and Jack has become obsessed with his two-timing ex-girlfriend.
Things start off relatively well, thanks to shared pharmaceuticals, but old gripes, their inability to keep secrets, a missing snake and a disastrous pepper spray incident sees them thrown off the train. Suddenly Francis' overly organised trip is left up in the air when he confesses to his brothers that they are actually on their way to see their mother, who is living in a monastery in the Himalayas.
Amidst the obsessive and doomed behaviour are truthful observations of how individuals and family behave, and this is what is so endearing about Anderson.
The Darjeeling Limited is less whimsical and absurd, and more realistic and emotional than previous Anderson works, but it isn't a great leap forward for the director either. The Darjeeling Limited lacks the energy of his earlier works, and while there are plenty of chuckles to be had and another fabulous retro rock soundtrack to lap up, it doesn't dispel that feeling you've seen many elements of this story before.
