Wes Anderson is back with another quirky effort and while The Darjeeling Limited certainly offers up plenty of the film maker's trademark eccentricities, it lacks the winning charm and humor of Bottle Rocket and Rushmore. Even Royal Tenenbaums, which was darker and meaner than the previously mentioned films, managed to bring the funny. The Darjeeling Limited is more on par with Life Aquatic in terms of it's overall tone. In this spiritual road movie, Adrian Brody, Owen Wilson, and Jason Schwartzman play estranged brothers who travel across India by means of a train called The Darjeeling Limited, in hopes that they might bond and ultimately find their missing mother.

During the trip, all sorts of bizarre craziness ensues, and little by little, we're given insight into the psyches of these vastly different siblings. Dysfunction is a common theme running throughout Anderson's movies, and it doesn't change here. I'm sure there's all kinds of symbolism and meaning at the heart of this movie but for me, The Darjeeling Limited wasn't particularly engaging. It isn't the cold, sarcastic nature of the piece. I can handle that. I just found myself not caring much for the characters here. There are certainly interesting moments in the picture (when we finally meet mom, we quickly realize where these brothers get many of their strange behavioral traits), and I liked the look of it, but overall, I just couldn't warm up to this film. On a side note, there's an interesting short that precedes The Darjeeling Limited. It's called Hotel Chevalier, and it plays as a companion piece to the feature. Hotel Chevalier I really liked. It features Jason Schwartzman and Natalie Portman as former lovers who meet for a rendezvous in a posh, European hotel. The thirteen minute mini movie is edgy, sweet, and sexy, and it actually moved me more than the film that inspired it.