Not so 'Wes Anderson' Wes Anderson's 'The Darjeeling Limited'

When I tell people I am a big film fan people will often ask who my favourite director is, which is a question I will answer at a later date but today Im just edging you. One of my favourite directors is Wes Anderson. I find it hard to not appreciate his films, they are known for their eccentric and niche visual style which when hundreds of films are churned out every year experiencing something different is always a joy. I haven't watched a huge amount of his films but have been enjoying going through his discography (especially since I've leached off my brothers Disney Plus). Of course I have seen his more 'main stream' classics like 'Fantastic Mr Fox' or as many say his best 'The Grand Budapest Hotel'. However the first Wes Anderson film I ever watched was 'Moonrise Kingdom' when I wasn't even aware who he was. The hazy colour platte was nothing I had really seen before in film and the absurdity of the storyline always stuck with me. 

The other day I added another film to my Wes Anderson watches, 'The Darjeeling Limited'. Reviews both online and by friends had told me that it wasn't their favourite of his work, but the simple story line always grabbed me more than the more unique 'The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou'. Following three some what estranged brothers on a train through India to find their mother a year after the death of their father, how could that be a good time !! 

Like the plot summary suggests the majority of the film is set on a train, which in turn leaves little space to create a visually enjoyable or interesting film but not for Wes of course. The length of the train creates a great axis for the camera to pan along and putting these three brothers in the cramp confines of a train cabin acts as a perfect stage for their trust issues. These are all quite Wes Anderson like however the slow motion shots utilised at the start and end of the film when characters are chasing after the departing trains was not something I distinctly remember used in any of the other films I've seen from him. They were iconic. 

Despite this I did find some of the shots not to my personal state, felt almost 'The Office' like which isn't a show I have seen in its entirety as I don't really appreciate it like others do. With these shots parts of the film felt almost like someone was showing as much 'Wes Anderson' into the film as possibly to maintain the message to the audience that "don't worry Wes Anderson did make this!!". That is probably because this is the least typically Wes stylised film I've seen from him so far, and I still very much enjoyed it. 

The general story line of the film had more heart than other films by him I have seen, unlike films like 'The Royal Tenenbaums' I actually felt attached to these characters. This was likely due to the fewer characters followed, understanding and hence attaching to the characters was a lot easier as it follows three rather than shoving the film full of them. This was also definitely helped by the fact Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody and Jason Schwartzman absolutely nailed their characters and dynamics. If I'd watch this film with no context of who these actors were you could easily convince me they were in fact brothers in real life, of course helped by their look but simply because they nail the complex relationship dynamic the film finds them at after a year apart. 

This film was sweet and humble. And definitely a film I would recommend to someone, but perhaps not a Wes Anderson die hard fan. 

Evie 04 September 2022