Wes Anderson Does It Again…

Occasionally there are incidents that occur that make us take a step back, reevaluate our existence, and rethink our bonds with others. Something within us is stirred and we feel a need for change. Take Francis Whitman in the film “The Darjeeling Limited.” He invites his brothers Jack and Peter on a spiritual journey through India in the hopes of reconnecting and reevaluating their relationship with one another, Brotherly love is the kind of love that is not always evident but manages to surface during the hardest of times, or so we have been led to believe, those of us who wouldn’t know from first hand experience. Francis (Owen Wilson)  is the controlling one who knows how everything and everyone ticks or at least how they should and we later find out exactly where he gets this at times annoying but in the end essential quality from. He is recovering from a motorcycle accident that has left him in bandages that could have taken his life. Talk about a wake up call.

Again, the estranged relationship aspect of a film surfaces this year, but in this film it is a little more quirky and different than say that of “The Savages.” The three brothers have not spoken in a year and went their separate ways after their father’s funeral. By taking the train trip through the Indian countryside, Francis would be able to take control of the situation, from where they would go to what they would order for dinner and even hiding Peter  (Adrien Brody) and Jack’s (Jason Schwartzman) passports and by doing so he would force the three to spend time together without being able to get away. Sometimes you just have to take the lead to ensure things change and go the way you want.

Unfortunately the train trip is cut short after the brothers take their antics a little too far. This is all aided by their non-stop drinking of cough medicine and pill swapping. This leaves no space for the intricately planned itinerary and the brothers have to use what ever they have to make this trip a spiritual success. They have to do it alone and without realizing it, it is exactly what is needed, for the to heal things need to happen without force or stability. This dramatic turn makes the film for me and this is when the film gets a good dose of genuine, naked truth that goes straight to the heart.

When they strip down to their bare skin, metaphorically of course, they have no choice but to deal with their issues and become more connected than Francis could have ever planned. Sentimentality? Nowhere to be seen. The film deals with the age-old issue of lost connections in a refreshing and moving way, much to my expectation of Wes Anderson’s take on issues in life.

The characters are marvels. They are odd and move in between funny and quirky and deeply affecting and moving in a heartbeat. The situations flow with ease and there is not a dull note to them, especially when one of the year’s best soundtracks played over many a pivotal point.

I think I could identify with the characters’ situation, I think I know a thing or two about broken connections between “brothers”, in fact they seem to define me in a way I couldn’t explain or a way I didn’t want to acknowledge, but the film forced me to open my damn eyes. Happy endings are hard to find in reality, but enough with my personal ramblings, this is not the time or place.

Owen Wilson’s turn as Francis is refreshing, he always seems on top of his game when he is directed by Anderson and in this film he gives one of his most genuine performances to date. Adrien Brody and Jason Schwartzman are great as well, all giving a little something unique to the film that I don’t think they could have done if the film was not as relaxing and easy-going as Darjeeling.

I must mention the scene where all the characters but not the brothers are on a train in compartments decorated to fit their exact positions in life and shows them in surroundings we have come to imagine them in, it was one of my favourite scenes of the film. We see Jack’s girlfriend with a toothpick in her mouth (Natalie Portman), the business man who missed the train (Bill Murray), Peter’s pregnant wife and even the tiger!

This is one of the years most surprising and uplifting films without ever bordering on conventional or sentimental. Another Wes Anderson gem, I wish I had never doubted the film before because it has taken my love for cinematic art and elevated it into something a little more personal, a little more profound and all in all; a little more than simple love.

Fatac Rating: ****½

The Darjeeling Limited. Directed by Wes Anderson. Written by Wes Anderson, Jason Schwartzman & Roman Coppola. Starring: Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody and Jason Schwartzman featuring Bill Murray and Angelica Houston. Running Time: 91 minutes. USA 2007. Rating out of five stars.

*Natalie Portman features in one frame of her as Jack’s girlfriend we saw her as in Hotel Chevalier, the short film shown just before The Darjeeling Limited characterizing Schwartzman’s character, Jack and his rocky relationship with his flaky girlfriend played by the lovely Portman, which is a great little slice of life look into one of the reasons as to why Jack is so hopeless when it comes to a committed relationship in my opinion.