The Darjeeling Limited

Some people clear their calendars for movies about pirates or some sort of man, possibly with spiderish qualities ("Do you have other men in this house, Marge? Radioactive men."). I on the other hand clear mine for movies directed by Wes Anderson. "Bottle Rocket" introduced an incredibly talented director to the world, "Rushmore" and "The Royal Tenenbaums" are both on the short list of my favorite movies, and "The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou," while not perfect, is a film that I enjoy thoroughly. All of them (especially from "Rushmore" on) are instantly recognizable as being Wes Anderson movies. Like so many of my favorite directors his films are stamped with a personal style that no one else could hope to duplicate. He has his detractors, but if you're an Anderson fanatic (and even if you didn't like "Zissou") "The Darjeeling Limited" is unmissable.
The film opens far more frantically than any of his past efforts. A business man (Bill Murray credited as The Businessman) is in a desperate rush to make his train. Bursting from his cab on the streets of India he runs through the tunnel and onto the platform. Seemingly out of nowhere bursts another man, who takes a brief moment to study the Business Man's face before jumping onto the back of the moving train. The Business Man doesn't make it, and the man, Peter Whitman (Adrien Brody), watches him get smaller and smaller as the Darjeeling Limited pulls away. Once on the train Peter meets up with his brothers, Jack (Jason Schwartzman) and Francis (Owen Wilson), who's still recovering from his recent motorcycle collision. The Whitmans have not seen each other since one year earlier at their father's funeral.
Francis (the oldest) dictates everything about the trip. It was his idea, he's made laminated itineraries for his brothers and he even orders their lunches for them. Each time one of them leaves the sight of the other two, they share secrets they don't want the third brother to know about. Of course none of the secrets are kept and they behave in the childish manner Anderson's adult characters are known for. The train's chief steward ("Zissou's" Waris Ahluwalia) is constantly threatening to remove them from the train. The threat of being kicked out is a prevalent theme in Anderson's work, and if you've seen his previous films you probably know their eventual fate.
The comedy of this film, like his others, comes from the little things. It's in the particular wording ("We haven't located us yet") and the way that "a spiritual journey" is dictated by a laminated itinerary. "Darjeeling" also displays Anderson's affinity for displaying the character of faces and his ability to take the real world and skew it in such a way that every inch of it is staged precisely where he wants it. Every shot is framed within an inch of its life (credit also going to cinematographer Robert Yeoman), everything in its right place. This is especially impressive considering that all of the train scenes were shot on a real moving locomotive.
The performances of Wilson, Schwartzman (who co-wrote the film with Anderson and Roman Coppola), and particularly Brody are excellent. Their ability to go from complete pettiness to unconditional love in the span of a moment convinces us that these men could only be brothers. Brody also delivers the film's most effecting line, maybe the saddest line an Anderson character has ever uttered.
I would rate this my third favorite Anderson film ("Rushmore" and "Tenenbaums" being 1 and 2 respectively). It's not quite a masterpiece, but it's a great movie that die hard Anderson fans (which I obviously am) will love. It's currently in select cities and will expand in the weeks to come. In the Seattle area it's playing at the Guild 45th, Meridian 16, and Lincoln Square (Bellevue). 9/10.