The Darjeeling Limited opens with a slightly abstract scene of a man in a hotel room, meeting with a girl he has been running away from. There is little holding the scene together, aside from some good acting on the part of Natalie Portman and Jason Schwartzman. It is quietly humorous, without being outright hilarious, the on-screen action is beautifully filmed, even if there is little by way of plot to cement the scene. Then, this scene closes as a short (with its own credits), mostly unrelated to the rest of the film, except in as much as it introduced one of the characters, Jack, and explains references that are mentioned later on.
The main body of the film opens with Bill Murray rushing to catch a train, somewhere in India. This, like the short, is a beautifully filmed misdirection, as the actual plot takes off with another man running past him on the station, to actually catch the train as it is pulling away. This man joins his two brothers in a compartment, for a journey across India together. The Whitman brothers, Francis, Peter and Jack, are a very believable trio, with quirky personalities that don't delve too far into the extremes. It is here that the theme of the movie is revealed. The oldest brother, Francis, has had a near-fatal car accident, and wishes to bond with his brothers on a spiritual journey through India.
All three brothers have their own issues, wonderfully explored throughout the film. The journey takes them to many places, beautiful scenes, and strange situations. The film is funny, whilst giving an interesting view of the characters and their lives. Their past is hinted at from early on, but not explained fully till much later.
There are recurring themes, which get more amusing each time they are repeated. In particular the inherited set of suitcases that the brothers religiously carry around with them for the entire journey act as a comedic device, while later being used as extremely poignant symbolism. Over the course of the film, it becomes clear that all three brothers have problems that they need to sort out... and by the end, you feel that they are on the way to doing that.
The Darjeeling Limited is a comedy that manages to delve into human nature and relationships and come up with a good plot and characters, whilst still remaining funny. It is slightly off-the-wall while not slipping off the rails into outright fantasy. Then there are the occasional poignant moments, which enforce that this film is not pure comedy. The acting was outstanding, and the direction emphasised the themes, whilst making the most of the some beautiful settings. I thoroughly enjoyed this film, and it left me with that wholesome feeling that I had been entertained whilst still watching something that was, beneath the surface, a very 'good' film.
