When the greatest directors of the 21st century are called upon, names like Scorsese, Coppola, Gerwig, Peele, and Nolan come to mind, but another director who has been rising in the mainstream for his niche films is Wes Anderson. American filmmaker, Wes Anderson is known for his meticulous set design, symmetrical composition, monotone acting, and astounding color design, and you are sure to recognize his style right away in favorites like Moonrise Kingdom and The Grand Budapest Hotel. However, there is a less well-known and perhaps underrated movie of his from 2007: The Darjeeling Limited.
The film follows three estranged brothers: Francis (Owen Wilson), Peter (Adrien Brody), and Jack (Jason Schwartzman) as they travel to India to reconnect with their mother after the death of their father. The Darjeeling Limited differs from Anderson’s other movies in several ways. Unlike others that are dripping with a large ensemble cast, the movie spends every second with just the three brothers and limits itself in Wes’s usually imaginary and nonsensical plot by grounding itself in the real world and focusing on their grief and relationship as a family, making for an emotional and familial story.
Despite its idiosyncrasies, it’s still a Wes Anderson movie and, although his directing is not as complex as in other movies, creative and beautiful moments are still captured that employ a variegated color scheme of oranges, blues, whites, and reds, mirroring the film’s setting.
This opening shot is mirrored later in the film, except then, Peter lets go of his baggage, literally letting go of his suitcase and figuratively moving on from his father’s death.
These two shots are of the best in the film. In the first, Peter, Jack, and Francis are attending the funeral of a boy they tried and were unable to save at a river. Then, it immediately cuts to them going to their father’s funeral, juxtaposing the acceptance faced with the boy with how they dealt with their father’s death. This similarity demonstrates how, in fact, they are still the same people, dealing with death once again.
It is clear that the film is meant to be more intimate and simple than the others, but that works in its favor. It allows the audience to focus on the characters and their development as they grow closer. The movie, at its core, is about brothers, about how they communicate and exist alongside each other. Early on, Anderson establishes the dynamics between the three: Francis is the oldest who inadvertently raised himself and his brothers, Peter is the middle child who dealt with his father’s death the hardest and struggles to move past his grief before becoming a father himself, while Jack is the youngest and utilizes fiction and writing as a coping mechanism. But all together, they work through their problems with frustration and love in the beautiful backdrop of India, which is like a character in its own right, enveloping the colors, music, and stylistic feel of the film.
Anderson went for something different and more lowkey than his other films. It is not as extravagant or directorially “out there”, but there is something to be had in a small movie about three brothers learning to heal. Moreover, the movie can explore this growth in a multitude of ways, but I think the movie’s vision culminates in the third act’s bathroom scene:
After visiting their mother and realizing they have little time to get to their next train, Francis, Jack, and Peter take a 5-minute break to go to the bathroom and clean themselves up after spending the last few days in the mountains. While there, Jack trims his mustache, Peter shaves his beard, and Francis removes the bandages on his head to show his past wounds to his brothers. The two stare at him and Francis says that he still has some healing to do, before re-doing his bandages and heading back to the train.
This is a spectacular scene that showcases their character development and movement toward acceptance: Francis is vulnerable and shows that he is not perfect, and the three brothers recognize that grief is a process and that their family is going to get better with time. That grief is a marathon, not a sprint.
The Darjeeling Limited is simply wonderful. The writing is impeccable, and heartfelt, and doesn’t slam the message into your face, letting you take in the script and sequences as they are. The music complements the vibe of the movie and Anderon’s directing makes for aesthetically majestic shots that audiences don’t forget. It’s a movie that isn’t for everyone but, even though The Darjeeling Limited is a resident in the last spot of any Wes Anderson movie ranking, it is an exquisite and heartwarming movie that viewers should reconsider.
Images:
Anderson, Wes and Fox Searchlight Pictures. “The Depth of The Darjeeling Limited.” First Run Criticism, 2010, mikeanton.wordpress.com/2010/11/08/the-depth-of-the-darjeeling-limited.
Fox Searchlight Pictures. “The Darjeeling Limited, 2007.” MARSHALL and the Movies, 29 Sept. 2022, marshallandthemovies.substack.com/p/the-darjeeling-limited-at-15.
Fox Searchlight Pictures, and Wes Anderson. “A still from The Darjeeling Limited.” Medium, 2023, medium.com/counterarts/the-films-of-wes-anderson-the-darjeeling-limited-and-hotel-chevalier-d8ccb9b6bb67.
—. “Chill and Cult: Discover ‘the Darjeeling Limited’ on Netflix.” JUSTFOCUS, 14 May 2018, www.justfocus.fr/movies-cinema/chill-cult-discover-the-darjeeling-limited-on-netflix.html.
