My friend recently summed up Mr. Wes Anderson in the following way:
"Man #1: I'm quirky.
Man #2: Yes, but I'm quirky and droll.
Man #1: That may be so, but I'm
quirky and only decorate in muted pastels. It helps show that I am not happy with my life, but am still getting by.
Man #2: I'm afraid we'll just have to agree to disagree, which may not make us happy, but we'll at least leave with a slightly better understanding of each other, and that's almost as good.
Bill Murray: Hi. I'm here, too."
I'm tempted to just leave this review at that it pretty much sums up the general tone of "The Darjeeling Limited" but what kind of critic would I be if I just let a movie pass without letting everyone know what I thought of it? Not a very good one. Its an odd thing being a critic as you feel compelled to let people know what your two cents are even if no one actually asked for it. So here we go.
The film finds us in India, where three brothers have met on a train to reconnect as brothers. They all have their own quirks and life problems but they agree to travel together and do the activities that their oldest brother has set up. Of course with the three all in the same train car and having their own quirks they quickly run into problems which most brothers have. At times they travel off the train and visit spiritual sites in India and eventually are kicked off the train.
You know for a movie where a lot of stuff is happening, not a lot happens. At least not a lot that is interesting. Does the film look good? Yes. Is the soundtrack enjoyable? I thought so. Does even one of these brothers keep my interest as a character, let alone all three together? Not a bit. I think its better structured than Anderson's last film but it still never rises above being yet another quirky story from Wes Anderson.
He reminds me often of M. Night Shyamalan, a man who is clearly talented if only he would just get over himself and not feel the need to force his style on a story rather than just tell a story in an interesting way.
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I would also compare him to Shyamalan, but in this way: he is a one-trick pony. Sure, they have a striking mastery over that one trick, but it's the same thing, over and over.
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