'Darjeeling' is, well, quite limited
Forget for a moment the irony of seeing Owen Wilson in bandages after a suicide attempt in "The Darjeeling Limited," which just debuted at the Venice fest. How is the movie?
Director Wes Anderson "has the attitude for comedy, but not the aptitude," says Richard Corliss of Time Magazine. "His films are museum artifacts of what someone thought could be funny. They're airless. Movies under glass."
The problem, Corliss asserts, is that picaresque films like this one "need an interior spring with more thrust than 'Darjeeling's' attempt at reconstituted brotherhood. The problem is in Anderson's approach, which is so super-cool, it's chilly."
Brrrrrrr. Just like Corliss' review! READ MORE
Variety's isn't much warmer: "Anderson's arch, highly artificial style gets in the way of character and emotional development, rendering pic piquant rather than profound . . . . Inventively staged pic should satisfy the upscale, youth and cult auds Anderson has developed, though it's unlikely to draw significantly better than his earlier work." READ MORE
(Photo: Fox Searchlight)
I heard there are references to Matrixism strewn throughout the movie.
Is that true?
Posted by: Matrixism in Darjeeling? | September 09, 2007 at 01:02 AM
Darjeeling isn't one of the best-kept secrets in the world, it's one of the busiest and most well-developed resorts in India, and one of about four towns in India that the average foreigner knows by name . Moreover, the film is set in Rajasthan, about 1,000 km to the west, so drunken Western college students would be better to head there when making their annual Bill Murray pilgrimage.
Posted by: j | September 04, 2007 at 10:05 PM
Read the entire Variety review and you'll see that overall Variety lked it.
Posted by: John W. | September 04, 2007 at 05:22 PM
It's probably for the best that "The Darjeeling Limited" bombs. Darjeeling itself is one of the best kept secrets in the world. I would have hated to see a succesful comedy draw in a bunch of drunken western college students the way "ground Hog Day" ruined Puxatauny, Pennsyslvania.
Not much worse than a comedy that isn't funny.
Posted by: Indian National Lacrosse Federation | September 03, 2007 at 11:26 PM