The short of it is that this movie is obviously made by Wes Anderson. It has his feeling all over it. If you've seen Bottle Rocket or the Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou, then you've basically seen this movie.

That is not say that...
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The short of it is that this movie is obviously made by Wes Anderson. It has his feeling all over it. If you've seen Bottle Rocket or the Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou, then you've basically seen this movie.

That is not say that The Darjelling Limited is not a quality film, full of deep narrative and a compelling subtext. It is. I lay out the Andersonness just in case you're not a fan of his previous work, because this is more of the same.

The premise is simple: three brothers set out on a very well orchestrated plan, the plan dissolves by the middle of act II and they have to improvise. Personally, the tools used to 'derail' the adventure are weak. It would seem that the three characters are at arms length to begin with and a more interpersonal journey would have been better suited to bring us to the point where they find themselves in the middle.

The acting is suburb, especially Jason Schwartzman, who in my opinion carries this film. He's the most complex character offered us. Owen Wilson's character is exactly the same character from Bottle Rocket, right down to his 'five year plan' (only this time he bought himself a laminator), while Adrien Brody is left with a character that is almost two-dimensional. In fact this missing depth seems to be running through all of them as so much is left to visual cues and plot tokens that very little real understanding of who, or why the characters even choose to be on this adventure is revealed.

But, that said, I was intrigued by the genuine beauty of it. From the simplicity of the characters, to the outright beauty of India, which seems more and more amazing to me the more I find out.

My biggest issue is that so little is solved by this movie that runs more than two hours. I don't know them any better by the end. I don't understand how the three of them fell apart. I don't understand any of them. I am going to have to see it again, like visiting that strange uncle who talks in riddles. I need to hear him speak some more before I even understand what he's trying to say.

I recommend it, but be warned, you need to be a fan of this sort of filmmaking.