Starring: Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody, Jason Schwartzman, Amara Karan, Bill Murray, Anjelica Huston, Natalie Portman

Directed by: Wes Anderson

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It's hard to approach one of your favorite director's objectively. There will always be a certain amount of admiration and respect, but also an expectation of their comfortable style. Too many surprises and you'll be saying, "It wasn't as good as the last one". While I've found Wes Anderson's films to get better and better as he grows as a director, the subject matter of his latest, The Darjeeling Limited, had me cautious. What do I know of brothers? Ask my three sisters. What do I know of India or train rides or grieving over a dead father or any of the central plot points of Darjeeling's seemingly complicated story? Is it fair for someone so detached to be critical? Perhaps I should view the film not as an experience but as a movie and a story alone. Let it excel on how it plays technically. But since when is that a good way to watch any movie let alone a Wes Anderson movie?

Technically, Anderson still has the goods. He proves he can still set a shot, tell a joke and assemble a soundtrack so good that you'll walk directly from the movie theatre to the record store whistling some inde rock classic you never knew you loved. Visually, Darjeeling is just as remarkable and vivid as any of his films, with characters as realized and interesting as ever, but clunky storytelling that can't seem to focus on any sort of conclusion derails this film completely leaving me cold. The Darjeeling Limited plays just like a train ride. The scenery is great but it takes forever to get where you're going.

Three brothers set out to find their mother in the depths of India and on the way hope to reconnect with each other, get over an ex-girlfriend, come to grips with impending fatherhood and accept their own father's death. They're all running from something and oldest brother Francis (Owen Wilson) is blindly optimistic that they can "escape" together with a task none of them wholeheartedly believe in.

In the tight confines of the train we meet these three brothers perfectly cast with Wilson, Adrien Brody and Jason Schwartzman (who of course worked with Anderson on Rushmore and co-wrote Darjeeling with Anderson and Roman Coppola). The three play off each other wonderfully in scene after scene of brotherly bickering, prescription drug swapping, and bad family habits. These habits, like setting goals - agreeing to follow them - and then dismissing them a moment later, played for great laughs and helped to quickly develop the characters. But as endearing as these individuals were with their quirks and playful squabbling, I found little in journey to cherish or even look forward to.

The story goes nowhere fast even as the boys finally make contact with their absent-tee mother played by Angelica Huston. She's such a cherished edition to the movie as this character you're built up to feel indifference towards, but can't help but fall in love with as soon as she comes on screen. But you're only setting yourself up to be let down. Great rollercoaster performance like that is not uncommon in Darjeeling, but they're all the more unsatisfying when we realize they're grounded in a story with no end.

These three brothers are on a life changing adventure that they don't bother to include the audience in on. Anderson gets wrapped up in the smaller moments of the film, developing this very realized family but not the task they're on. Perhaps the task is as undefined to them as it is to the audience and that's the point, but I felt cheated when the movie ended, they were better off for what they had been through, and I was left arms-crossed, pouting, and unmoved.

Like I said though. Maybe I just can't get it. I'd like to think that I can be perceptive enough to appreciate something totally foreign to me, but maybe my lack of brothers, living father, loving wife and present mother may exclude me from this very specific adventure. If that's the case, a better movie would have taken the same subjects and made them universal.

It's difficult for me to be blindly harsh like that because I can respect the movie on so many other levels. Wilson is shockingly good as this unhinged man trying to hold the family together. Schwartzman, as little Jack, is probably the coolest of the bunch but also the least developed. I found myself more interested in his moustache and the lady at the end of his stare then in the character himself. (Scroll down to the "On The Web" section to find out why I was dead wrong with that first impression of Jack.) Brody, as Peter, "Dad's favorite" feels the most authentic of the bunch. His fears, secrets and respect for what's lost, while not overplayed, are still ever present. He's a fine addition to the Anderson family and I really hope to see him turn up again.

Individually I was pleased with each character but they're even better together. Specifically in pairs. Watch closely whenever one breaks away from the set. The remaining two instantly trade secrets and speculate on bizarre behavior. The secrets of estranged brothers and how they become revealed is one of the cooler avenues of storytelling that Darjeeling explores. Don't take it for granted. It distinguishes this group as a classic trio in modern cinematic history.

So there's more good than bad but I can't pretend that's enough to recommend the film. I was just not happy with the film, I realize for little else other than it was beyond me. Chalk it up to ignorance or stupidity if you like because I'm sure this movie will connect with a lot of moviegoers. But without drawing any direct comparisons, I'm one of the people who left Darjeeling saying "It wasn't as good as the last one".

Rating: 5.5 out of 10 - I was bothered by the movie. There are so many good pieces and more than a few symbolic payoffs towards the end, but the trip was theirs and no one else's. Not even the audiences.

It's my least favorite of Anderson's films, and I don't say that in a good way like, "Cars is the worst Pixar film, but in terms of animation that's still pretty good." Darjeeling is not Cars. It's not "still pretty good" in comparison to the other films in its genre. It's Flushed Away or Ice Age 2. It's good but not Pixar. It's an Anderson movie only in name.

I'd have to say no, though a desperate desire to connect with the movie has me itching to go with a rental. I hold out a deep hope that a Criterion Collection edition (all of Anderson's past movies have gotten the Criterion treatment besides Bottle Rocket) will shed some light on the experience of developing and making the movie, ultimately creating a stronger bond. Where did this story come from? What more will the commentaries and documentaries on the DVD reveal about these characters that I know so little about? I don't presume that the DVD will answer these questions, it's the prerogative of the filmmakers to reveal as little or as much as they like, but should the answer some of these questions it would be money well spent. But if I leave the film as disconnected and indifferent as I left the theatre last week, then I will seal the disk in its Netflix mailer and contently forget about it forever.

Little Jack (Schwartzman) is easily the least defined character in the bunch, and I was content to forget him until Gordon pointed me towards Hotel Chevalier. A 13-minute introduction to Jack that Anderson had been playing before Darjeeling as it made the festival circuit. It's not so much an addition to the movie as it is its own, self contained, short film starring Schwartzman and his mentioned but rarely seen ex-girlfriend, played here by Natalie Portman.

This little glimpse at one character running from his daemons and the other seeking out what's comfortable and easy to control, offered so much invaluable background information on the most underdeveloped of the brothers. I felt like I understood why he ran and how he wrote far beyond the obvious reasons why and how anyone does those things. It was a refreshing look at something I'd already given up on. Though the most interesting thing about him still happens to be the woman that shares his bed.

Portman is as lovely as ever with her V for Vendetta buzz cut slightly grown out and her strategically positioned nakedness. If her character weren't such a manipulative beast it would be easy to fall for her all over again. Hotel Chevalier makes me wish Portman had been featured more in the primary movie but, while more of Portman is rarely a bad thing, in Darjeeling it would have stalled the movie completely. It wasn't her story. It was important to stay focused. I'm glad they offered us this glimpse.

Actually if the DVD offered up shorts for each brother - Peter finding out he's becoming a father, Francis' accident - I would be a lot quicker to add it to the list. Though how far is too far? Side stories are a lot of fun but some things are just better left unsaid. Hotel Chevalier Can be downloaded free through iTunes. If you're planning on catching the movie this weekend be sure to check out this brief intro.

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If you're not aware of the Kid's Book Project, you should be. It's a new collection containing the work of over 50 web comic artists who each contribute one page. That's pretty awesome, but the best part is that the proceeds from the book go directly to the Make-A-Wish foundation, which helps kids with terminal illnesses. The book is pretty reasonably priced and well worth your cash. Check it out.