Casting, music make ‘Darjeeling’ a hit

Director Wes Anderson’s latest movie, “The Darjeeling Limited,” is much like the rest of his work, though the narrative is a bit more confusing. Two of the film’s stars have been in past Anderson efforts — Jason Schwartzman in “Rushmore” and Owen Wilson in “Bottle Rocket,” “The Royal Tenenbaums” and “The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou.” The two are joined by Adrien Brody to tell a story of three brothers on an attempted spiritual journey.

The film actually begins with a 13-minute short called “Hotel Chevalier” starring Jason Schwartzman and Natalie Portman. It is simply a brief scene between the two lovers in a hotel. The short is a strange first chapter to the film with more of the content illuminated later. Natalie Portman is more peculiar here than perhaps ever before, looking and playing a dark, awkward character similar to Evey Hammond from “V for Vendetta.”

Even better, the feature film (or part two) begins with an extended cameo from Bill Murray as he tries to catch a train called the Darjeeling Limited. It serves as a funny kind of joke. Since Murray does not catch the train, he is not a principal player in the film, whereas Brody is because he does manage to make it.

Out of the three brothers, Wilson commands the vast majority of the dialogue, usually leading the action along. Wilson’s character, Francis, is the engineer of the trip, sometimes telling half-truths to keep his brothers on board.

As a result, Brody and Schwartzman are more subdued and silent. Brody is used to playing this type of character, but it is something newer for Schwartzman, though he recently played the soft-spoken King Louis XVI in “Marie Antoinette.”

Even though Schwartzman’s acting is high quality, it seems he is being held back by portraying a calm, reserved character. He breaks out in one scene, yelping and spraying his brothers with mace, and, perhaps not coincidentally, this is one of the funniest bits of the movie. At the same time, he always exudes charm, particularly with his romantic attempts toward a worker on the train.

As always with Anderson’s films, the soundtrack is an asset, as are the technical decisions. Anderson knows just the right time to do a slow-motion sequence or crank up the volume on a song.

The storytelling of the movie is fractured at times, making the viewing experience strange. Even with the slow pacing, it might have been better if it were longer, giving some of the plot elements more time to fully develop.

It’s an entertaining movie, yet hard to accurately define. Its themes are as ambiguous as the twists and turns of life, which the three brothers deal with as they try to reconnect their patchwork family.