The Darjeeling Limited

The hipster highlight of the year: the opening of Wes Anderson's new film, The Darjeeling Limited. Anderson, the king of quirky comedy, creates the story of three brothers attempting to regain relationships while traveling through India on a train called the Darjeeling Limited. The film follows a typical journey/quest motif with ups and downs and minor characters who show up to either help or hurt the brothers. Owen Wilson stars as the eager Frances, who recently had a spiritual awakening due to a severe automobile accident. He lures his two younger brothers, Adrian Brody as Peter, and Jason Schwartzman (who also helped write the film) as Jack, to India, where they take a ride on the illustrious Darjeeling Limited: destination known only by Francis.


Wes Anderson

The Darjeeling Limited opens with a short film, Hotel Chevalier, a prequel centered on Jack (Jason Schwartzman) and his relationship with his nameless ex-girlfriend, played by Natalie Portman. Jack is living in a French l’hotel, filling up on room service and spending an obscene amount of money. He has escaped his dysfunctional family for now, but his unfaithful ex-girlfriend somehow finds him at his Parisian location. The couple end up being involved in an unspecified sexual act with Peter Sarstedt’s “Where Do You Go To (My Lovely)” playing from Jack’s iHome (a guy behind me in the theater exclaimed, “That’s a first-generation iPod! That’s so cool!” He does know that those came out only about 5 years ago, right? I guess first-gen iPods are the new vinyl). Caution for the easily offended: this short film does contain nudity, language that might be offensive to some, and the implications of domestic abuse.


The Darjeeling Limited was a beautiful film. What impressed me most about Anderson’s film was the use of color. The sets were breathtaking: the Indian towns sparkled with vivacious open markets and ornate Hindu temples. Even the train combined bright turquoise with gold and coppery reds. Jack’s mustard yellow robe remerged in several scenes, including another glimpse of Natalie Portman near the end of the film. Bill Murray, another Anderson staple, also cameos in a few scenes.

One of my favorite aspects of the film was the intriguing set of caramel-colored, various-sized luggage (first introduced in Hotel Chevalier), each piece numbered and embossed with an animal print. With more research, I discovered that designer Marc Jacobs (known for his kitsch, quirk, and use of white space in ads…quite possibly the incarnation of Wes Anderson if he were a fashion designer…) worked with luxurious leather designers at Louis Vuitton to create this one-of-a-kind luggage exclusively for the film. The luggage set belonged to the father of the three brothers, and now they carry all eight pieces with them on their journey. The luggage represents their only aspect of family (their mother is avoidant, at best), and soon they realize that some things, like real relationships, are more important than suitcases and broken-down Porsches.



I loved how in-character Wilson and Brody were in the film. Schwartzman, on the other hand, became less believable as baby brother Jack. I think that Schwartzman begins every film as an endearing nerd of some sorts but ultimately falls prey to the over-the-top quirkiness he is determined to exude. To me, his lines were forced and unnatural, while Wilson and Brody transformed into the older brothers.

I also loved the debut of Amara Karan as the stewardess Rita, who engages in a sexual encounter with Jack despite his emotional baggage (Anderson loves those metaphors) and her boyfriend, the captain of the train. She had an elegant presence among the men on the train, and Frances calling her “Sweet Lime” (the train’s liquid refreshment) was perfect.

Anjelica Huston also stars as the boys’ unreliable mother who does not attend their father’s funeral and races off to a tiny, tiger-ridden town in the Himalayan mountains.

I highly recommend this movie, especially to offbeat college students and twenty-somethings. It was definitely worth the trek to the Bijou (possibly the slowest theater in existence), and I hope to see it again.

Contains some sexual scenes, a comical representation of minor prescription drug use, and strong language.

More information:
IMDB
Wikipedia
The Darjeeling Limited Official Website