• Title: The Darjeeling Limited
• Director: Wes Anderson
• Writer(s): Wes Anderson, Roman Coppola, Jason Schwartzman
• Cast: Adrien Brody, Jason Schwartzman, Owen Wilson
• Links: Official Site, IMDB Profile

It is a sad day when one of your favorite directors lets you down. Prior to The Darjeeling Limited, Wes Anderson films had escaped disappointment, at least in my opinion. All of Anderson’s previous works are worthy of being watched numerous times, with at least two (Bottle Rocket, Rushmore) of them being legitimate classics. The Darjeeling Limited, half buddy film, half travelogue, re-teams Anderson with Rushmore star Jason Schwartzman. The first half of the film has many fantastic moments, but a detour in the storyline causes the film to lose any shred of focus it had established.

Owen Wilson is back once again, no surprise there. Wilson stars as Francis, one of three brothers who embark on a group trip to India to bond and recover from the death of their father. Joining Schwartzman (Jack) and Wilson is Anderson newcomer Adrien Brody (Peter). The three develop surprisingly strong chemistry, with Wilson leading the pack by channeling his inner Dignan (Wilson’s character in Bottle Rocket). The vessel that carries the brothers on their voyage is The Darjeeling Limited, a train that serves as another colorful example of Anderson’s acclaimed visual flair.

Save for a pointless Bill Murray cameo (I do love Murray though), nearly everything about the first half of The Darjeeling Limited was impressive to me. I even began plotting my review in my seat. This excitement gave way to immense frustration. Due to the outlandish behavior of the brothers (which includes them bringing a poisonous snake on board), they are kicked off of the train. From here on, it is almost as if Anderson and anything resembling a coherent script decided were booted as well.

As much as I love Noah Baumbach and what he contributed to the writing of The Life Aquatic, Owen Wilson was the best writing partner Wes Anderson ever had. On The Darjeeling Limited, Anderson switches things up again. Anderson shared scribe duties on Darjeeling with Roman Coppola and Schwartzman. This formula works well enough at first, but during the film’s unfortunate second half, I got the feeling that there were too many egos in the kitchen. The characters and the film itself could not decide where it wanted to go, and apparently nor could the writers.

The second half of The Darjeeling Limited finds Wes Anderson, for the first time, going through the motions. Even the performances of Brody, Schwartzman, and Wilson seem confused after a certain point. With that said, things still look good visually even when the film goes south. That is a testament to Anderson and Robert Yeoman, one of the best cinematographers around. However, as many other reviewers have stated, the feeling and purpose isn’t there to accompany it.

Almost every director has a dud in their collection, even the greats. This will go down as Anderson’s first, but I believe that he is capable of coming back from this misstep. His next project is an animated adaptation of The Fantastic Mr. Fox, which will bring Noah Baumbach back into the fold. I am intrigued to see what they have in store for the animated medium. I can only hope that Baumbach keeps Anderson from jumping ship while the film is still running.

(10/27/07)

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