“The Darjeeling Limited (2007)
“I gotta get off this train”.
Final re-release from my lifelong obsession with the films of Wes Anderson, and one of my first ever opus career length blog articles. Arguably only the second film (behind Bottle Rocket) that had to work hard after the event to win me over, subsequent viewings have seen my admiration grow immensely.
It’s a beauty of a film hidden amongst a bevy of them, all lovingly appreciated in the blog article below or the re-produced spoiler free appraisal a little further along the track.
“I gotta get off this train”
The Darjeeling Limited (a luxury train on which our protagonists traverse India) is perhaps Wes Anderson’s most understated and introspective film hence far and also the first film to introduce a real left field narrative change that shocks on first viewing and continues to be an effective plot twist every time to an intriguing tale of brotherly love, despair, dislocation and tragi comedy shot through the prism of Anderson’s loving cinematic lens. The twist and indeed the majority of the plot will not be revealed here but rather a simple premise set up and a brief dissection of the three brothers travelling India in search of themselves for sure but more importantly for the brotherly love they once shared. Written by Director Anderson, Roman Coppola and Jason Schwartzman (star of Anderson’s second film Rushmore) they jointly created a vast set of characters of whom nine or ten are in main or cameo roles but it’s nominally the brothers journey on whom we depend, but these will be dissected later. In supporting roles are many returning actors from previous Anderson films with Bill Murray returning in a short cameo role as “The Businessman”, Anjelica Huston returns as “Patricia”, Kumar Pallana returns in a wordless role as an “Old Man” on board the train and Waris Ahluwalia has a larger role than the one he played in The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou as the train’s under pressure “Chief Steward”. Keep an eye out for a brief cameo from Natalie Portman as “ex girlfriend”, Irrfan Khan (Slumdog Millionaire and Life of Pi) may break your heart as “The Father”, Wallace Wolodarsky will certainly make you smile as put upon “Brendan” but it’s Amara Karan who excels in her role as “Rita” assistant to the Chief Steward on the train. I’ve kept this brief as ever as I wish to prevent from plot spoilers but each of these characters, no matter how brief they may be on screen, are key to this understated gem from Anderson.
The premise of this 91 minute film is a simple one: Following the death of their Father the three brothers have been estranged from each other for over a year and agree to reunite on a somewhat luxurious train journey across India. Together with the death of the family patriarch each brother has suffered a trying year and all of this is evidenced in the film’s opening minutes, despite their ludicrous and comical attempts to keep their secrets from each other. The double crossing and in fighting soon becomes prevalent in a twisted and black comedy tinged screenplay as the three brothers are introduced.
“Francis” (Owen Wilson) Oldest of the three brothers and outwardly the paternal figure of the three which begins to grate on the reunited brothers almost immediately. Francis is domineering and a forward planner with his damned “itinerary” and has their entire trip planned to the nth degree! However it’s for a good reason and not simply the outward and surface idea of getting back together with his brothers, for finding themselves spiritually or to “say yes to everything”. All of these are true of course, but he’s a meticulous planner for other reasons too. He’s fond of saying “Itinerary” and asking “Do You Trust Me?” a lot and as well as being heavily bandaged and having a fractured foot plus he’s also lost a tooth!
Francis’ choice of painkiller is India’s strongest available. All is revealed as the film progresses and Owen Wilson surprises his most ardent critic (me) with a superlative performance that even outshines his measured performance in The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. This is Owen Wilson at his very best and he would go on to collaborate yet again with the Director on two of his forthcoming three films.
“Peter” (Adrien Brody) First seen running for the departing train (and setting a trend for the brothers for the entire film), Peter is the last to arrive for the reunion and the biggest existential crisis to be running away from. His wife is pregnant and due to give birth in six weeks yet he’s a world away from her and questioning whether or not he wishes to actually be a Father as he fears divorce far more. As with his brothers, he still mourns the passing of his Father but he’s taking it to extreme lengths by hoarding his late Father’s glasses, keys and razor which provides a wider divide between himself and his siblings. Peter’s choice of painkiller is an Indian muscle relaxer and he’s been known to exclaim “Fuck the Itinerary!” a lot.
Adrien Brody runs Owen Wilson a very close second with an outstanding performance of barely controlled anger and remorse and would soon reunite with the Director on two of his next three films.
“Jack” (Jason Schwartzman) Youngest of the brothers and always being dragged into their comical exchanges. In desperate need to talk to someone, anyone but his bickering siblings! Heartbroken over the loss of his Father and now missing his ex girlfriend, he certainly enjoyed being “used” by Rita though it ultimately left her heartbroken and tearful too. A writer who’s painkiller of choice is Indian flu medicine amongst many others and who “don’t feel good about myself”.
Nowhere near as good as his iconic performance in Rushmore but that’s not to say his deadpan, laconic performance doesn’t shine because it does. But he’s the youngest sibling and they’re always the least to be seen and heard. Jason would also feature in the coming three Anderson films.
Although this is Wes Anderson’s most understated film to date that’s not to say his trademark staples of extreme close up’s on ordinary items, extreme zooms (highly effective here both as zoom in’s and zoom out’s), distanced zoom’s even, slow motion shots, long tracking shots, disguised dialogue and some sublime overhead shots aren’t included. They are, and as always, to great effect, especially the two overhead shots of the luggage and the pepper spray gun which precedes a highly comedic close to the first half of the film.
Regular Director of Photography Robert Yeoman returns capturing the albeit sporadic yet beautiful shots of the Indian countryside and the high shot over a suburban city whilst the young inhabitants play cricket “with a tennis ball!”. Yeoman also lights one of the best scenes of the film as the brothers sit around a camp fire getting high on their various painkilling medicines and ruminating why they don’t trust each other and Jack asks the telling question “I wonder if the three of us could’ve been friends in real life, not as brothers?”. It’s a gem of a short scene and highly effective. Regular music composer Mark Mothersbaugh is replaced here with local Indian composer Satyajit Ray for a more localised score and for inspiration from traditional Indian films from which much of the music is derived from. As with all Wes Anderson film’s there are also so many stand out songs included with three tracks from The Kinks (This Time Tomorrow, Strangers and Powerman) and the hauntingly beautiful “Where do you go to (My Lovely)” by Peter Sarstedt as well as The Rolling Stones lyrically apt “Play with Fire” which is an obvious lyrical insignia for the film as a whole. Classical tracks also make a reappearance with the stand out “Debussy: 3 Clair de Lune” playing over the aforementioned camp fire scene and the closing credits roll to the wonderful “Champs Elysses” by Joe Dassin.
Suffice to say, for a Wes Anderson film, the musical choices are again absolutely sublime and compliment a truly wonderful film of three brothers trying to reconcile with themselves as well as with the death of their beloved Father. All three are running away from something and some more so than others and they all have mental and physical scars whilst trying to find their place in the world. Constant themes of spirituality, religion and faith abound but it’s far more than that and more the baggage we carry and where we ultimately find a home for it. Blackly comedic with a real crunching gear change that may surprise, it’s yet another eminently quotable Wes Anderson film and a worthy addition to his cinematic cannon of work.
Thanks for reading. Just for larks as always, and always a human reaction rather than spoilers galore. My three most recently published film articles are linked below or there’s well over 200 blog articles (with 400+ individual film reviews) within my archives from which to choose:
