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by Frank Showalter

The Darjeeling Limited

B: 4 stars (out of 5)
2007 | United StatesIndia | 91 min | More...
Reviewed Oct 6, 2007

Three estranged brothers (Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody, and Jason Schwartzman) reunite for a train trip through India.

The Darjeeling Limited is a relentlessly charming movie. Director Wes Anderson constructs such an aesthetically pleasing world for his characters that simply looking at the film is entertainment unto itself, yet lurking beneath the fine attention to detail and amazing use of color is the quiet emotional story of three damaged men.

Anderson and his screenwriting partners Roman Coppola and Jason Schwartzman tell their story so subtly, that The Darjeeling Limited feels like a film with no plot. This isn’t the story of three brother’s reconciliation, it’s the story of a journey, and without a plot it feels like anything can happen.

Such whimsy, if not properly tempered, can easily veer into self-indulgence, a criticism often leveled at Anderson’s previous effort The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, but The Darjeeling Limited feels much more restrained and indeed, the film’s 91 minute running time is considerably shorter than The Life Aquatic’s 120.

One thing that hasn’t changed from Anderson’s previous efforts is his excellent choice of music. Once again, he delivers an eclectic mix of rock and folk that seems perfectly suited to his fantastic world.