Oh wait, he was the director who brought us that amazingly offbeat, visually unique, delightfully cast movie starring Jason Scwhartzman and Bill Murray?
And then he resurfaced later with that amazingly offbeat, visually unique, delightfully cast movie starring Bill Murray and Owen Wilson?
Then he followed that up with the radically artistic shift that was an amazingly offbeat, visually unique, delightfully cast movie starring Bill Murray, Owen Wilson and Anjelica Huston?
Okay, I think I know who you mean now.
And he’s one of your all-time favorite directors? Or, maybe, he just cracks the top ten? Well, then I have good news for you, hard-core to mediocre fan: Mr. Anderson just released another movie that just happens to be amazingly offbeat, visually unique and delightfully cast. It stars Jason Schwartzman, Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody and Anjelica Huston. And there may be a cameo or two by that Bill Murray guy.
Now don’t worry, this latest directorial feat offers all of the same features that you may be expecting, including a) quirky humor, b) unique, if not entirely defined characters who conflict in ways both deep and petty, c) an off-putting, sometimes irritatingly dysfunctional, but mostly comedic family dynamic, d) several wide pan shots, e) well-fitting pop music, and f) that Bill Murray guy.
No, but seriously, I kid because I love.
This new Andersonian delight follows three brothers, Francis (Wilson), Peter (Brody) and Jack (Jason) as they take a spiritual journey and try to reconnect as a family on a train traveling through India. The brothers have been brought together by the eldest, Francis, who is also secretly trying to arrange a meeting with their estranged mother (Huston), who has become a nun in a convent in the Himalayas.
The brothers travel through India on the Darjeeling Limited, a train that is so uniquely constructed and ornately decorated, it might serve to act as the movie’s fourth main character. The claustrophobic recesses of the train push the brothers together, and their individual tics and small grievances slowly escalate, mostly with humorous results. However, by the end of the movie it is still difficult to understand any of these characters on more than a surface level, or to recognize them by more than their particular neuroses and speech patterns. They are all given characteristics (quirks!), but fall short on actual character.
Towards the latter half of the movie, the tone takes a strangely grave turn with the only plot point that takes the brothers outside of their own lives and disagreements, and into the real world of India. The moment is unsettling and offers a few visually stunning emotional scenes, but it is not before long that the movie twists back in on itself and delivers the same heartwarming we-are-family message that is Anderson’s trademark.
That being said, if you are a fan of Anderson’s previous movies (I don’t really need to provide the links again, do I?) then you’re sure to appreciate the finer points of “The Darjeeling Limited.” And if you’re not a fan of Wes Anderson’s movies, then why the hell would you go to see this one in the first place? And, as a follow-up question, why are you even alive?
The end.
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