The Darjeeling Limited
By Halley B., Springfield, OR
“The Darjeeling Limited” may not be one of writer/director Wes Anderson’s best films, but it retains a quirky sense of humanity and endearing characters that make it worth the entire two hours.
This film tells the story of Jack, Peter, and Francis, three brothers who have not spoken in a year. After Francis has a near-fatal motorcycle accident, he decides to bring his brothers together for a spiritual journey across India in order to repair their broken relationship.
Let me state first that if you did not like Anderson’s previous films, you should skip this one. It’s his directing to the very core, using all of his usual tricks to make a captivating, if not ridiculously long, dark comedy that is truly about family ties that bind.
It contains the kind of humor I’ve come to love - ranging from subtle one-liners to outrageous chases involving cobras, pepper spray, and dubious bottles of cough medicine. The actors take this humor to the next level by putting their all into even the most ridiculous scenes, so the audience needs no help completely submersing themselves in what’s going on.
For all its merit, “The Darjeeling Limited” leaves something to be desired in the realm of action. It’s a film that requires patience from viewers, since it has quite a few empty moments that could, in the end, have been edited out to improve the flow. I mean, I love the beautiful shots of India, but I think I could deal with less than half an hour of them.
All in all, this movie is a slow-moving treat that has its own unique style and pace. It demands a lot from its audience but in the end gives a lot back, and I would definitely recommend it.
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