Review of The Darjeeling Limited (2007) by Kellen V — 01 Aug 2010

Anderson said he was heavily influenced by Satyajit Ray's 'The River', claimed to get the itch to shoot in India after a talk with his friend Martin Scorsese. The film which shifts from taking place on a train(with Bill Murray making a cameo on the train's platform) to a little village in India as well as a flashback montage after their father's death tells the story of three brothers who travel across India in an attempt to repair their damaged relationship.

The cinematography is more of the same from Anderson featuring slow motion shots, as well as a moving camera. Schwartzman a friend and collaborator comes through again with a solid performance as Jack the brother who is trying to recover from his relationship with an ex-girlfriend(hotel chevalier).

Adam Brody who is hit or miss at times with his deadpan delivery plays Peter who was the favorite son of their late father. Owen Wilson's character is named Francis, who is the brother in charge of leading the expedition.

Owen's character just comes across like a knock off of Richie Tenenbaum. The three of them are trying to make their way towards an Abbey where their mother(Anjelica Huston) works.I will say this: Even though I wasn't a fan of the characters/stories, The film does have it's strengths mainly the landscape of India which is beautifully shown during the course of the picture.

The clothes, 60's soundtrack, it's all there and fans of Anderson's previous work will surely love it. However, for the man who was claimed to be the next Martin Scorsese(by Martin himself) the film seems like a let down.