Owen Wilson’s recent personal problems add another layer of poignancy to “The Darjeeling Limited,” a typically melancholy comedy from director Wes Anderson.
Wilson, a mainstay in Anderson’s films, plays a wounded (and, it is hinted, self-destructive) brother, Francis, the oldest of three. He insists his two brothers, Peter (Adrien Brody) and Jack (Jason Schwartzman) join him on a train traveling to India. But he hasn’t told them why.
A year earlier their father died, and the boys haven’t spoken to each other since. This, and other mysteries, will be cleared up during the journey.
Upon this thin — very thin — bit of plot, Anderson and his co-writers Roman Coppola and Schwartzman, who are cousins, hang a movie. The result is utterly endearing, although I still get the sense that Anderson is on diminishing returns since “Bottle Rocket” and “Rushmore.”
“Darjeeling Limited” has Anderson’s signatures: cute pop songs of the 1960s, lush horizontal traveling shots, droll humor punctuated by some welcome physical shtick. His cheerful acceptance of people’s absurdities (Francis is convinced, for instance, that the brothers can squeeze in some useful spiritual enlightenment while on their tour) is refreshing and restorative. It’s only Anderson’s super-controlled visual style that’s beginning to feel oppressive.
Owen Wilson’s head is covered in bandages for much of the film, but his bruised optimism is intact. And Schwartzman is a delight. Only Brody looks the odd man out here, not quite in tune with the general vibe. But some siblings are like that, I suppose.
Anderson’s eye for peripheral characters is still keen, especially as concerns a beautiful train attendant (Amara Karan), a suspicious steward (Waris Ahluwalia), and a businessman (Bill Murray) who occasionally sprints through the film.
This movie has moments you just want to hug: the boys sitting around a campfire at night, or Schwartzman sticking his head out the train window to sneak a cigarette, the nighttime Indian sky around him and a pretty woman sticking her head out of another car.
Are a bunch of lovely moments enough to call a movie? Maybe not. “The Darjeeling Limited” is gorgeous to look at and nice to dream about, and possibly that’s all it needs to be.
There’s another piece of “Darjeeling Limited” floating around, a 13-minute film called “Hotel Chevalier.” It’s a prologue to the feature, and a couple of moments in “DarjeeÂling” will be obscure without seeing it. However, it won’t be playing with the film; you’ll have to see it online. It’s a gem, and its story of Jack being visited in a Paris hotel room by an ex-flame (Natalie Portman) is just right. It’s also the closest thing to overt sensuality Anderson has managed in a movie.
“The Darjeeling Limited”
Train of thought: Three brothers (Owen Wilson, Jason Schwartzman, Adrien Brody) share a train car through India, possibly bumping into some enlightenment along the way. This movie is a collection of lovely and droll moments, and maybe that’s all it has to be. Director Wes Anderson uses his signature effects to sustain a very thin plot.
Rated: R for language, subject matter
Now showing: Guild 45th, Meridian
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