REVIEW: The Darjeeling Ltd

Dir: Wes Anderson | Cast: Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody, Jason Schwartzman, Angelica Heuston

Really two films in one, the short – Hotel Chevalier – is an unusually sexual charged moment for Anderson, but the perfect prologue to the feature – The Darjeeling Ltd. Three brothers form the dysfunctional family, meeting for the first time after their father’s death.

The oldest brother, Francis (Wilson), is controlling and obsessive, the middle child Peter (Brody) is grieving and depressive and the youngest, Jack (Schwartzman), is brooding and repressive. The title refers to the train they travel on in a wash of cigarette smoke and cough medicine highs.

The Indian landscape is captured perfectly from the beginning (which includes a Bill Murray cameo) and is matched by the usual spot on soundtrack.  Perfectly odd, funny, sad and enlightening I cannot recommend this film enough.