I'm not claiming The Darjeeling Limited is Wes Anderson's best work, or even in the top three. But upon its original release it was (for the most part) panned by critics claiming it was the continuation of the disappointing follow-up to The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) first started by The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004). One critic from the Houston Chronicle cast it aside saying:
"...[Anderson's] stylistic approach only makes matters worse. Enriched with the music of Satyajit Ray films and the vibrant colors of India (the golds, the reds, the brilliant aquas), the whole thing should glow with sub-continental warmth. But the opposite occurs: Visually, it's the frostiest movie so far this year. The reason is Anderson's decision to put everything in a box, whether literal or figurative. A train compartment is a box, of course, and a hotel room is a box, and the imaginary railway that passes through the movie's end is a line of boxes too.
I get it: We travel in our own, lonely compartments while life wings past the window. But even when these characters move beyond their boxcar walls, they seem defined by the space between them. The camera zooms in annoyingly, twirls woozily and pans from man to man with a technical dexterity that draws attention to itself, not the story.
Tiny supporting performances appear like Easter eggs (Bill Murray as a businessman, Barbet Schroeder as a German mechanic), and a brief opening sequence - called ``Part I,'' but it's really a short - will wow or worry fans of Natalie Portman. Of the three leads, Brody draws closest to humanity, but I don't fault the others for coming up short. It's an affected film about disaffected people, and no cast in the world could save it."
While some of these criticisms are valid, I think that the isolation was intentional on Anderson's part- there are obvious metaphors peppered throughout the film that all add up to the product: a road movie about emotional baggage that almost goes nowhere.
To be brief, the premise is that three estranged brothers are reunited on a luxury train called The Darjeeling Limited as it travels across India. This supposedly spiritual meeting has all been carefully orchestrated by the oldest brother, Francis (Owen Wilson), who has dragged along his hairless assistant Brendan. Mistrust is abundant amongst the brothers. The youngest, Jack (Jason Schwartzman) plans to leave the trip early, and Peter (Adrien Brody) is evading his very pregnant wife Alice back home. Various mishaps happen along the way, but after a snake escape and a heated pepper spray fight, the Whitmans are thrown off of the train. As they make their way back to civilization, they come to a river where three young boys are trying to cross. The boys fall into the river, and all three brothers jump in to come to their rescue. Francis and Jack are successful in saving two of the boys, but Peter is not. He carries the dead body back to the village, where they meet the family. It's this moment in particular that is much more sobering than most of We Anderson's films. After the funeral, the brothers go to a monastery to meet their mother, but their reunion is brief and unresolved as she leaves in the morning before breakfast. Finally, the Whitmans run for a train (set to a Kinks song in Anderson de rigeur), leaving their luggage behind them as they sprint.
To be brief, the premise is that three estranged brothers are reunited on a luxury train called The Darjeeling Limited as it travels across India. This supposedly spiritual meeting has all been carefully orchestrated by the oldest brother, Francis (Owen Wilson), who has dragged along his hairless assistant Brendan. Mistrust is abundant amongst the brothers. The youngest, Jack (Jason Schwartzman) plans to leave the trip early, and Peter (Adrien Brody) is evading his very pregnant wife Alice back home. Various mishaps happen along the way, but after a snake escape and a heated pepper spray fight, the Whitmans are thrown off of the train. As they make their way back to civilization, they come to a river where three young boys are trying to cross. The boys fall into the river, and all three brothers jump in to come to their rescue. Francis and Jack are successful in saving two of the boys, but Peter is not. He carries the dead body back to the village, where they meet the family. It's this moment in particular that is much more sobering than most of We Anderson's films. After the funeral, the brothers go to a monastery to meet their mother, but their reunion is brief and unresolved as she leaves in the morning before breakfast. Finally, the Whitmans run for a train (set to a Kinks song in Anderson de rigeur), leaving their luggage behind them as they sprint.
But here's why I will continually defend this movie: It is not a continuation of the disappointment era following The Royal Tenenbaums, but a continuation of the best theme carried through Wes Anderson's early filmography- coming to terms with mortality and a loss of control. Francis is clearly the big control freak in this movie, and he's in good company with Dignan (Bottle Rocket), Max Fischer (Rushmore), just about everyone in the Royal Tenenbaums, though Chaz Tenenbaum especially, and Steve Zissou (The Life Aquatic). Each one of these characters is only comfortable when they have a strong grasp on their situation on surroundings, and when this grasp is inevitably weakened in something usually relating to mortality, they're forced to adapt and eventually come to terms with the fact that they will not always have command. For Francis, his grasp is slowly but surely weakened over the course of the movie instead of in one pivotal scene, like Peter, but I'll get to him in a minute. Francis isn't intentionally trying to manipulate his brothers to be toxic, he's compensating for the lack of control in his own life while also assuming the empty position left by their late father that doesn't necessarily need to be assumed by anyone. His first loss of control comes before the movie even starts- offscreen in a motorcycle accident that is later revealed to be intentional. Each of the aforementioned control-freaks experiences a similar loss of control that leads them to where they are now. It's a serious insight into the human condition, but audiences often overlook or disregard this because they're too busy concentrating on the circular panning and aesthetic viewpoint that is characteristic of Anderson's style. It's like there is a beautiful painting presented in front of us, but we are too busy looking at the frame to pay it any attention.
However, the main story highlighted in The Darjeeling Limited is that of Peter, executed excellently by Adrien Brody. He's probably the most affected by the death of their father, especially in light of the news that his wife (who he's unsure about his love for) is pregnant. How could he open up a child to the kind of loss an pain that he is currently experiencing? But when he fails to save the little boy in the river, there's clearly a change. It's a complete and devastating loss of control. When the three brothers are each given time before their flight out of India, Peter calls his wife and discovers that he's going to be the father of a boy, and is excited that the gender-neutral vest he bought for the baby is more masculine than not. For him, raising the child with Alice is almost a way to replace the life that was lost in the river. Of course she's pissed to find out that Peter is all the way in Who The Fuck Knows, India, but the important part is that he had the courage to face his problems instead of running away again, and we commend him for this. Jack faces a similar demon personified by his ex-girlfriend (Natalie Portman), and ends the vicious cycle she perpetuates in his life. On the other end of the spectrum, their mother is still running away from her problems- and her own children- so it's easy to see why the Whitmans could be stuck in such an unhealthy habit in the first place.
There is no clear destination for the Darjeeling Limited as a film- even the actual train gets lost along the way- but that's beside the point. It's a case study about the effects of loss in a person's life, taken multiple ways, and how (literally) shedding emotional baggage is the only way to move forward. You may not necessarily be wiser, but you'll be more prepared for the inevitable next go-round.
However, the main story highlighted in The Darjeeling Limited is that of Peter, executed excellently by Adrien Brody. He's probably the most affected by the death of their father, especially in light of the news that his wife (who he's unsure about his love for) is pregnant. How could he open up a child to the kind of loss an pain that he is currently experiencing? But when he fails to save the little boy in the river, there's clearly a change. It's a complete and devastating loss of control. When the three brothers are each given time before their flight out of India, Peter calls his wife and discovers that he's going to be the father of a boy, and is excited that the gender-neutral vest he bought for the baby is more masculine than not. For him, raising the child with Alice is almost a way to replace the life that was lost in the river. Of course she's pissed to find out that Peter is all the way in Who The Fuck Knows, India, but the important part is that he had the courage to face his problems instead of running away again, and we commend him for this. Jack faces a similar demon personified by his ex-girlfriend (Natalie Portman), and ends the vicious cycle she perpetuates in his life. On the other end of the spectrum, their mother is still running away from her problems- and her own children- so it's easy to see why the Whitmans could be stuck in such an unhealthy habit in the first place.
There is no clear destination for the Darjeeling Limited as a film- even the actual train gets lost along the way- but that's beside the point. It's a case study about the effects of loss in a person's life, taken multiple ways, and how (literally) shedding emotional baggage is the only way to move forward. You may not necessarily be wiser, but you'll be more prepared for the inevitable next go-round.