I Wonder If The 3 of Us Would've Been Friends in Real Life

Known for his quirky, heartfelt, and melancholic films, Wes Anderson is among one of the modern auteurs of the 21st Century. Along with fellow American directors like Sofia Coppola and David Gordon Green, Anderson is among those as part of the new American auteurs to make a mark in the late 90s and 21st Century. Early films like 1995's caper film Bottle Rocket and 1998's coming-of-age high school film Rushmore were delighted for its humor and heartfelt themes of disappointments and life-changing experiments. Along with co-writer and actor Owen Wilson, Anderson would score another critical hit with 2001's The Royal Tenenbaums that gave the duo an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay. It seemed Anderson and his team, that included the Wilson brothers, Owen, Andrew, and Luke along with Bill Murray, Anjelica Huston, Jason Schwartzman, set designer Eric Anderson, and cinematographer Robert Yeomen, could do no wrong.

Then came 2004's The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou that Anderson co-wrote with Noah Baumbach and things didn't go well as planned. The film received mixed reviews from both fans and critics as Anderson's tale of a washed-up documentary filmmaker with a man who he believes is his long-lost son was a film that didn't connect with general audiences. Despite another winning performance from Bill Murray along with a unique ensemble that included Owen Wilson, Cate Blanchett, Willem Dafoe, Anjelica Huston, Michael Gambon, and Jeff Goldblum, it was lost with some audiences. After a break that included producing Baumbach's award-winning The Squid & the Whale and developing an adaptation of Roald Dahl's The Fantastic Mr. Fox, Anderson returns with a new project that reveled in his themes of families, disappointments, and heartbreak. This new film is entitled The Darjeeling Limited.

Written by Anderson, Roman Coppola, and Jason Schwartzman, The Darjeeling Limited tells the story of three estranged brothers trying to reunite following the death of their father on a spiritual journey in India. Along the way, they try to find their lost mother while dealing with brotherly issues and such. A film that seems to recall not just the family dysfunctions of The Royal Tenenbaums but also the ambitions of Life Aquatic in terms of its location rather than its production. Anderson also seeks inspiration from the films of late Indian film director Satyajit Ray along with his music and the early films & music of the Merchant-Ivory team.

The film is also accompanied by a short film written and directed by Anderson called Hotel Chevalier that serves as a prologue to the feature film, that is available on the Internet. Starring Anderson regulars Owen Wilson, Jason Schwartzman, Anjelica Huston, Kumar Pallana, Waris Ahluwalia, and a cameo from Bill Murray along with Adrien Brody, Natalie Portman, Camilla Rutherford, Amara Karan, and Ifran Khan. The Darjeeling Limited is Wes Anderson's most mature and poignant effort to date.

Hotel Chevalier

Jack Whitman (Jason Schwartzman) is at a Paris hotel room watching TV ordering up some food. Suddenly, he gets a call from his ex-girlfriend (Natalie Portman) who is about to arrive and spend the day with him before she leaves for a trip. Jack reluctantly invites her to the room as he cleans up the place and dress up. She arrives with flowers while being annoyed over his choice of music playing in the background. She looks around the room while Jack's food arrives as they later make out. During the make-out sessions, the two have a conversation over their future as Jack is aware that this is the end while having a look outside at Paris.

The Darjeeling Limited

After racing a businessman (Bill Murray) to catch the Darjeeling Limited train, Peter Whitman (Adrien Brody) beats him as he enters the train to meet up with younger brother Jack. They’re later joined by the eldest brother Francis (Owen Wilson), who is sporting bandages on his face following a motorcycle injury. After not being together for a year since the funeral of their father, Francis hopes to reconcile his feelings with their brother. With help from his bald-headed assistant Brendan (Wallace Wolodarsky), Francis sets up an itinerary for a spiritual journey to many spiritual sites in India. While both Peter and Jack aren't enthused about the trip, they reluctantly join as Peter is still in mourning over their father's death. Even worse, Peter is also dealing with the upcoming birth of his first child with wife Alice (Camilla Rutherford) who is back home in London. Jack meanwhile, copes with the relationship of his ex-girlfriend by falling for a train stewardess named Rita (Amara Karan).

With Jack making out with Rita, he also plans to leave for Italy to meet up with his ex-girlfriend while Peter also plans to leave. Francis refuses for both to leave while they take on the spiritual journey. Yet, the trio start to get into crazy situations when Peter is often carrying their late father's things including his keys, razor, and sunglasses while borrowing Francis' belt. After purchasing a cobra, Peter takes it to the train but it only causes trouble when they're confronted by the train's chief steward (Waris Ahluwalia). After another stop during their journey, Francis is still trying to find information about the whereabouts of their mother Patricia (Anjelica Huston) whom was the real motive for Francis' plans for a spiritual journey. When the train is suddenly off course, things get tense when finally, the brothers are forced to leave the train. After confronting everything they've been through, it's clear that the spiritual journey has failed.

Upon their plans to return to the airport, the Whitman brothers suddenly encounter and later, get involved in an accident that eventually becomes tragic. Taken to a village where they meet a man (Ifran Khan), the brothers are suddenly forced to reflect that last time they were together at the day of their father's funeral. There, they recall the moments where they find the key into why they fell apart. After their period at the village and with gratitude towards the people that took them in, Francis finally found the whereabouts of their mother. The brothers find out their mother had become a nun as they all confront the death of the boys' father and Patricia's husband.

While The Darjeeling Limited and The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou both had ambitious narratives and storylines that took Wes Anderson and his characters to different worlds. What the Life Aquatic had seemed to fail in terms of its ambitions is suddenly made up for with great maturity and care in The Darjeeling Limited. It's largely because Anderson scaled back his ambitions for something more personal in a film that isn't just about loss but fear. Fear is the main theme as the Whitman brothers and their mother all seem to run away from something. Jack is running away from a failed relationship, Peter from impending fatherhood, and Francis and Patricia both running away from death in their own ways. While Francis' brush with death would serve as a plot device to the film's story, it's also a film about brothers and how dysfunctional they are in their relationship.

With help from Roman Coppola and Jason Schwartzman, who are both cousins in real life, Anderson brings a script that is filled with not just Anderson's unique take on humor but also his sense of melancholia. Where his previous film, The Life Aquatic had been overwhelmed by its ambitions where both the humor and drama seems forced. The Darjeeling Limited goes for something natural where there's a line in which Jack asks if his relationship with Francis and Peter would've been better if they had been friends in real life instead of brothers. That's definitely the key plot-point of the entire film as the script isn't just Anderson as his most mature but also a step into a new direction for the director.

Anderson's direction, that's been known for its use of tracking shots, slow-motion sequences, and moments of spontaneous hijinks. All of that is there but this time around, he takes a new step by adding more emotions to what he's doing. The compositions Anderson goes for in some of the sequences on train are definitely wonderful while he and 2nd unit director Roman Coppola capture the beauty and mystique that is India. The film also has Anderson confronting many new themes while adding some humor to the situations. It doesn't come off as awkward but rather emphasizes the dysfunctional behavior of the Whitman brothers. Another new element Anderson adds to the film is mystique. There's two characters who make brief appearances in the feature film, the businessman and Jack’s ex-girlfriend, who appears in The Darjeeling Limited for a minute. Who is this businessman and why are there bruises on Jack's ex-girlfriend's body.

Again, this is Anderson opening up more where audiences can give an idea of interpretation while there's some clues in the dialogue into who they might be or what actions they have done. The overall work in what Anderson does visually is definitely miles away from the things he's done in previous films. He's managed to get not too much into his style but also try new things like a car chase in the opening scene of the film. It's one of the most amazing and frantic car chase scenes ever done. The result isn't just Anderson starting to get better at his craft but also growing in the process.

Longtime cinematographer Robert Yeomen's cinematography is very potent with its wonderful exterior shots of India that includes some wonderful nighttime and evening shots of the area in the exteriors. Many of the interior scenes are awash with a mix of blue, yellow, green, and exotic colors that gives Yeomen's camera amazing coverage of some of exterior shots of the train and what's going on. Yeomen's work is just stunning in every frame. Production designer Mark Friedberg along with art directors Aradhana Seth (who is also a set decorator) and Adam Stockhausen with additional help from set decorator Suzanne Caplan Merwanji bring a great look to train that is the Darjeeling Limited. The small rooms, hallways, and rooms have an exotic look to the film. With additional help from Wes Anderson’s brother Eric on the luggage design, the film's look works to its visual.

Legendary costume designer Milena Canonero brings a wonderful look to the film's colorful atmosphere with the lovely use of silk for Rita's stewardess clothing along with the chief steward, and the suits that the Whitman brothers wear. Editor Andrew Weisblum brings some solid editing to the film and its irreverent tone with the use of slo-mo edits, jump-cuts, and action cuts to convey some of the film's humor as well as its drama. With Vincent Marchand doing the editing for Hotel Chevalier, both films feature wonderful cuts to emphasize the anti-style that is the rapid, kinetic editing that's going on with most Hollywood features. Sound recordist Pawel Wdowczak along with additional help from Coppola sound designer Richard Beggs do great work in conveying the atmosphere of India including some of the recorded traditional material that's added to the film’s soundtrack.

The film soundtrack marks the first in being that it's first of Anderson's films to not feature a written score from longtime collaborator Mark Mothersbaugh of Devo. Instead, Anderson goes to the music of the late, legendary Indian auteur Satjayit Ray for his intense, folky compositions to convey the film's road-like feel, romance, and drama with additional cuts from Ray collaborators Ustad Vilayat Khan and Jyotitindra Moitra. The Indian music works not just for the atmosphere that is India but is used for accompaniment or background of where the characters are in whatever situation they're in. Along with classical cuts by Ludwig Van Beethoven and Alexis Weissenberg, the film also includes pop songs by Peter Sarstedt (notably in Hotel Chevalier), Joe Dassin, and a bouncy Indian-pop cut from Shankar Jaikishan from the Merchant-Ivory film Bombay Talkie.

While the score and music adds a new flavor to Anderson's knack of musical taste, he still uses his beloved collection of British rock music. A cut from the Rolling Stones appear in one of the film's most emotional key sequences while three cuts from the Kinks from their 1970 album Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround Part One. Two of those songs, This Time Tomorrow and Strangers, both of which appear on the film's trailer, emphasize the film's melancholic tone while Powerman appears near the film's end. Once again, Anderson and music supervisor Randall Poster create an amazing soundtrack.

The film's cast is wonderfully assembled as it features cameos from Anderson regulars Wallace Wolodarsky as Francis' bald-headed assistant Brendan, Waris Ahluwalia as the Chief Steward (and also a security chief in Hotel Chevalier), and Kumar Pallana as a traveler on the train. Whereas the previous film didn't have cameos from Anderson's buddies, this one made up for it, especially Kumar Pallana's cameo which is a joy to see. While some may feel that beloved Indian actor Ifran Khan's appearance is merely a cameo and is wasted, his performance as a grieving man is a sight to see for those who have never seen any of the actor's work. While it's a cameo of sorts, it works in every way as his appearance is wonderful to watch. Amara Karan is great as the stewardess Rita whom Jack falls for while she is dealing with the breakup of her boyfriend as her presence is wonderful to watch. Camilla Rutherford is excellent in her brief scenes as Peter's wife Alice, notably in the flashback scene, and an appearance on the train as a wife worried about Peter and his grief over his father.

While Bill Murray's role as a businessman is a cameo, he manages to make everything of his brief appearance as a businessman running to catch a train as he's just great to watch while he also appears briefly in another scene with the train. While Natalie Portman only appears in The Darjeeling Limited for a minute in that same train sequence, her work in Hotel Chevalier is one of her best performances. In the role of the ex-girlfriend, Portman brings an androgynous look that's similar Jean Seberg in Godard's classic film Bout de Souffle while adding a somewhat, b*tchy demeanor to the character. Her appearance is also notable for the fact that Portman also does her first nude scene where she shows her butt. I think I'll have Ron Simmons say something about that in one word...

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DAMN!!!!

Anderson regular Anjelica Huston, who has a brief appearance, is great as Patricia Whitman. A mother turned nun who seems very weary over what had happened in the year since. While Huston is great in her performance, her character is the strangest where despite being this maternal figure, she seems to wander off as if she had been traumatized while talking to people who might not have existed. It's a great performance from the actress who's amazing to watch in any of Anderson's films. New to the Anderson film family (and hopefully does more) is Adrien Brody in what is definitely his funniest performance yet. Taking a break from more dramatic, darker film roles, Brody is at ease in playing the middle brother Peter (after Peter Bogdonavich) who seems very possessive and also cries a lot whenever he's dealing with his father's death. Brody's chemistry with Wilson and Schwartzman is full of energy and delight as he's definitely a natural for the role as his performance is great to watch.

Jason Schwartzman delivers a brilliant performance as the emotionally battered Jack (after his late father and bits of Jack Nicholson) who seems to try to find ways in coping over the relationship with his ex-girlfriend by making out with Rita or calling his ex's answering machines. Schwartzman is definitely the peacekeeper and conscience of the brothers while adding lots of comedy to his role. Owen Wilson is great in his role as the bossy older brother Francis (after Schwartzman's uncle and Roman Coppola's father Francis Ford Coppola) who is desperate to try and reconcile with his younger brothers. While Owen's appearance with bandages is very disturbing (considering the recent events of his own personal life), it's probably Owen at his best while not playing the often laid-back persona in most of his comedies. Owen shows more range as an actor in this film as he acts like a leader while trying to act in a fraternal role that shows that Owen Wilson is a better actor when he's not acting like an idiot or some sentimental figure in more mainstream fare.

While it's not as brilliant as Rushmore, or in some cases to the hardcore fans, Bottle Rocket, The Darjeeling Limited is a funny, dramatic, complex, and serious masterpiece from Wes Anderson and company. Fans of Anderson's work will no doubt enjoy his directing style, themes, and characters in this film while those new to him might have a hard time in understanding his themes and humor. Yet, the film does remain entertaining and its laughs are well-earned. With Hotel Chevalier now playing in theaters thanks to the buzz it got from its brief period as a free download on iTunes, the experience of watching both back-to-back is great to watch. In the end, Hotel Chevalier/The Darjeeling Limited is an overall joyful, uplifting masterpiece from Wes Anderson who has now managed to grow up with grace and style.

Wes Anderson Films: Bottle Rocket - Rushmore - The Royal Tenenbaums - The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou - Fantastic Mr. Fox

Wes Anderson Soundtracks: (Bottle Rocket) - (Rushmore) - (The Royal Tenenbaums) - (The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou) - (The Life Aquatic Studio Sessions featuring Seu Jorge) - The Darjeeling Limited - (The Fantastic Mr. Fox)