In The Darjeeling Limited (2007), Francis Whitman (Owen Wilson – Marley & Me, Midnight in Paris) reunites with his brothers Peter (Adrien Brody – The Pianist, The Jacket) and Jack (Jason Schwartzman – I Heart Huckabees, Fantastic Mr. Fox) for the first time since their father’s funeral one year ago. The hope is that he can lead them on a quest for spiritual enlightenment as they embark on a train trip through India in hopes of finding their long-lost mother. If this plot + Owen Wilson as the lead actor already have you imagining how dumb this movie might be, keep the imagination rolling because you aren’t even close.
Watching Wilson buffoon around a train filled with Indians and tourists somehow seems appropriate, but Adrien Brody? How your career has tanked since your outstanding performance as a Polish music composer trying to survive World War II landed you a Best Actor Academy Award in 2002. And who is Jason Schwartzman? With his 1980s mustache and Justin Beiber haircut, is this little pipsqueak, who is towered over by Wilson and Brody, supposed to be the ladies’ man of this trio? The reactions of the characters to such incidents as a snake appearing in their cabin, eating breakfast in the meal car with a random older man as the fourth member of their table, or camping together around a campfire after getting kicked off of the train for ruckus behavior were not just painful, but excruciating. When the trio “risks everything” to rescue three young Indian boys whose raft flips over in a river, a 10-minute break from the routine for what I thought was supposed to be some drama to see the caring and courageous side of the brothers while at the same time “uniting them as one.”
Not once in Wes Anderson’s 91-minute movie did I think I was watching characters, let alone brothers. These three individuals, who couldn’t look or act any differently from one another, had no screen chemistry with one another. I never thought I was watching Francis, Peter, and Jack. Instead, I saw Wilson (just as annoying and whiny as he’s always been), Brody (who never once looked comfortable) and some twerp. I was also under the impression that movies defined as “comedies” were supposed to be funny. The funniest part of the film was how ridiculous Wilson looked with his head all bandaged up from “accidentally driving his motorcycle into a hill on purpose.”
There was no reason for me to watch this movie had it not been on HBO ten different times during its free preview weekend. Rather than just pressing record with my DVR button, I should have researched either A) the premises of the movie, B) its lead actor, or C) West Anderson’s filmography, which includes quite a few other films that I have no interest in seeing (The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou, The Royal Tennenbaums). Learn from my mistake and see something, anything, else.
Plot 1/10
Character Development1/10
Character Chemistry 1/10
Acting .5/10
Screenplay .5/10
Directing .5/10
Cinematography 3/10
Sound 1/10
Hook and Reel 1/10
Universal Relevance 0/10
9.5%