Film Reviews

The Darjeeling Limited

• Rating:
• Director: Wes Anderson
• Starring: Adrien Brody
• Details: US / 91mins (15A).

Francis (Wilson), Peter (Brody) and Jack (Schwartzman) Whitman - three brothers who haven't seen or talked to each other in over a year - reunite on the Indian train, The Darjeeling Limited, to embark on a spiritual journey. Those hoping that The Darjeeling Limited will be another Wes Anderson quirky ride into the absurd with a gluttony of off-beam character humour might be slightly disappointed: everything here is toned-down, stripped-back and played straighter than in his previous outings. The humour this time around is more embedded in character than ever before and more often than not you really have to dig hard in search for the laughs. Maybe it's Wilson's absence from the writing credits (this one is penned by Anderson, Schwartzman and Roman Coppola) or maybe it's Anderson tackling more serious issues (the death of their father and the disappearance of their mother soon after), but there's definitely something amiss. Where Anderson loses out on the gags, however, he makes up for with his most visually impressive film yet - The Darjeeling Limited is a joy to watch, with his hard camera pans softened by an array of beautiful colours. Expecting a talented director like Anderson to continue making the quirky comedies he's famous for forever would be a big ask, and this might be his way of nudging his fans in another direction, a direction he really wants to go in. Whether his fans accept the change or not remains to be seen - but it certainly makes his next feature a guessing game and a more intriguing prospect.

Review by Gavin Burke