Whimsical Wes

The Darjeeling Limited - 3.5/5

Director Wes Anderson's films have always rather divided audiences. It seems that people either loved or hated the likes of The Royal Tenenbaums or Rushmore. The Darjeeling Limited will do little to settle that divide - if you liked those films, you'll probably enjoy this, if you didn't - move on. It displays Anderson's usual traits - a slightly detached stance and characters who are simultaneously underplayed and totally extreme oddballs. What he does amazingly well is to use those characters to capture something of the dysfunctionality of relationships, especially family relatonships.

And, of course, there's Owen Wilson - Anderson has never made a film without him, but its equally as arguable that Wilson has never been as good for any other director. I've seen his performance here described as "deadpan mania", which is a pretty good description. He plays one of three estranged brothers who join up for a train journey across India. He is ably supported by Adrien Brody, displaying good comic talent, and the underated Jason Schwartzman. Also watch out for cameos from Anderson regulars Bill Murray and Anjelica Huston.

Whilst this never quite hits the comedic heights of Tenenbaums or Rushmore, it is perhaps Anderson's warmest film to date and, at times, surprisingly moving. This is especially true in moment of unexpected tragedy halfway through the film, when the film moves into new terrotory for Anderson. Yes, some of the metaphors are slightly heavy-handed - like the luggage standing for emotional baggage, but there's also a good depiction of an India which is neither mocked nor exoticised.

In terms of Anderson's films, this probably ranks somewhere between Tenenbaums and The Life Aquatic, which makes it well worth checking out if you like his sort of thing.