Corliss "Darjeeling" Blast #2

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Richard Corliss Darjeeling Limited Venice Film Festival Blast #2 (i.e., about the continuing Wes Anderson poised-attitude problem that dogs it): "Picaresque movies often feel longer than they are. For them to work, they need an interior spring with more thrust than Darjeeling Limited's attempt at reconstituted brotherhood. The problem is in Anderson's approach, which is so super-cool, it's chilly.

"In his elaborate visual construct, virtually every shot is followed by with the camera point-of-view shifted 90 or 180 degrees -- which is geometrically groovy, no question, but pretty quickly predictable. Same goes for his stories, which rely on gifted people behaving goofily. Anderson has the attitude for comedy, but not the aptitude. His films are museum artifacts of what someone thought could be funny. They're airless. Movies under glass.

"[Owen] Wilson has appeared in all five of Anderson's feature films (Bottle Rocket, Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums, The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou and the new one) and co-wrote the first three -- the ones I prefer in the the director's oeuvre. The Darjeeling script is by Anderson, Schwartzman and Roman Coppola (Francis' son, Sofia's brother) and it doesn't add luster to anyone's reputation.

"The Darjeeling program includes a related 13-min. film, Hotel Chevalier. Schwartzman's Jack seems uneasy when he gets a call from an ex-girlfriend (Natalie Portman) who insists on showing up in his swank hotel room. He draws a bubble bath for her. They flirt and parry and wind up in bed, exchanging dialogue that we hear again, at the end of Darjeeling, as part of a story Jack has written.

"It's a beguiling vignette that, as Closer and My Blueberry Nights did, shows Portman as a comic actress in fresh bloom. I wish that she, and some of the feeling and wit of the short film, had been in the long one."

Jason Schwartzman, Natalie Portman in scene from a 13-minute Wes Anderson Darjeeling Limited short called Hotel Chevalier, which is described above by Corliss [still provided by Dazza Buser of www.natalieportman.com]

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Posted by Jeffrey Wells on September 3, 2007 at 8:13 AM

comment #1

travis b says ...

interesting and slightly disappointing review. but, i also have a hard time taking any review seriously when there is a glaring factual error (owen wilson is not in rushmore at all). i know that may seem like nitpicking, but if someone is a professional critic, they should be able to take the two seconds to double check something such as that. it's not just corliss, i've seen it done a few times by different critics. it makes me wonder if they can't take the time to get their facts straight, did they even take the time to really consider the movie? or are they just jumping on the anderson-hating bandwagon that appeared after the life aquatic? and no, i haven't seen the movie, so he may be right, but stuff like that irks me the wrong way. alright, end rant.

Posted by travis b at September 3, 2007 8:42 AM

comment #2

Gabriel says ...

Actually, Owen played Ms. Cross' dead husband, Edward Appleby. His face was shown in a photo in her bedroom. Although I wouldn't be surprised if many of the people who says he's in "Rushmore" are mixing him up with Luke's appearance as the male nurse.

Posted by Gabriel at September 3, 2007 8:55 AM

comment #3

gruver1 says ...

Wells to travisb.: Gabriel is right -- Owen Wilson is, technically, "in" a scene in "Rushmore."

Posted by gruver1 at September 3, 2007 9:06 AM

comment #4

travis b says ...

oh, come on. there's a picture of my cousin in the fugitive on one of the mantle's but does that mean he's in the movie?

Posted by travis b at September 3, 2007 9:10 AM

comment #5

Michael says ...

I'm really beginning to not like Jason Schwartzman and his stupid Silver Lake moustache hipster thing that he does.

Posted by Michael at September 3, 2007 9:31 AM

comment #6

onemike says ...

Come on, we all knew this was going to catch up to Wes didn't we? Only a very specific audience can dig these types of movies, and that audience is narrowing as the generation that loved Rushmore grows up.

Posted by onemike at September 3, 2007 10:00 AM

comment #7

Gabriel says ...

Travis B - If your cousin had also co-written "The Fugitive", and had exhibited a discernible influence on the film's on-screen tone and spirit, then I wouldn't be opposed to you saying he was in it.

Posted by Gabriel at September 3, 2007 10:18 AM

comment #8

The Movie Man says ...

It's a context thing. Taken one by one, Wes Anderson has not made a bad movie (excluding Darjeeling, which I haven't seen.) The cumulative effect of Anderson's filmography is annoying though, and the too hip to actually make a joke thing, while amusing in any one film, gets old over the course of a decade, and almost seems cowardly. We get it Wes, move on and make a different movie.

Posted by The Movie Man at September 3, 2007 10:25 AM

comment #9

christian says ...

since i loved LIFE AQUATIC beyond what i thought, i'll be happy to see this one.

now i gotta finish watching my criterion SLACKER. only gets better with time.

Posted by christian at September 3, 2007 10:53 AM

comment #10

travis b says ...

gabriel - cowriting it is a totally different thing than being an actor in a film and corliss states that wilson is in rushmore, which to the normal joe schmoe down the street means that he somehow acts in the film, which he does not. i understand that the character of edward appelby looms heavily over the proceedings, but wilson's involvement in terms of acting as the character is a quasi-cameo at best. to me (and apparently, i'm the only one who feels this), it's a misleading statement, especially since he plays an integral part (as in acting) in every other wes anderson film.

Posted by travis b at September 3, 2007 11:32 AM

comment #11

The Movie Man says ...

Life Aquatic ages well, far better than the easier to initially like Royal Tenenbaums. I'm quite fond of L.A. too, but again, I think its time for Anderson to do something else. I was actually excited about the Dahl adaptation for that very reason.

At the risk of turning this thread into a 100 post nightmare of D.Z.ian nonsense, the same goes for Tarantino. One by one he hasn't made a bad movie (and the first three are very strong, context or not) but his brand of unpredictability is about the most predictable schtick a major filmmaker has to offer these days.

Posted by The Movie Man at September 3, 2007 12:01 PM

comment #12

Gabriel says ...

Travis - I don't want to turn this into Petty semantics, but Corliss said "Wilson has appeared in all five of Anderson's feature films". A photo on a table qualifies as an appearance. I stand by what I said about Owen being "in" the movie from a spiritual perspective as well - with his attitude and personality resonating throughout - but even throwing out that idea, his likeness is still featured. If Corliss had said "Owen Wilson's performances are always the Plymouth Rock on which every single Wes Anderson film is founded, with absolutely no exceptions", then you would have a point. Based on Corliss' actual quote, you're just nitpicking, and wrongly so :)

Posted by Gabriel at September 3, 2007 6:32 PM

comment #13

Gabriel says ...

* lower-case P on petty - no relation to Tom

Posted by Gabriel at September 3, 2007 6:33 PM

comment #14

corey3rd says ...

you know what gets better with extra viewings - Blue Water, White Death - the film that Life Aquatic cribs. Now that film has a third act payoff when the crew meets up with the Great White. The new DVD is great as they explain just how close the crew came to getting eaten up.

Posted by corey3rd at September 3, 2007 6:50 PM

comment #15

Flawman says ...

Gabriel wrote "Wes Anderson ....while amusing in any one film, gets old over the course of a decade, and almost seems cowardly."

Gabriel - I disagree. What I like about W Anderson (or Tarantino, as another example) is that when you watch one of his films, you know you are watching a W. Anderson film. His style is unmistakeable. He's created his own world with it's own rules and I don't think that's an easy or cowardly thing. I realize you are saying it's becoming a little 'one note' but I guess I'm saying it's better than most of the generic stuff that's out there and for me that's enough. I'll pay to live in his world for a few hours.

This is my first post, btw. And I am definitely not a critic. Just a fan.

Posted by Flawman at September 3, 2007 8:55 PM

comment #16

nemo says ...

What on earth is Portman holding in her mouth in that still? Is it a toothpick? A lollipop stick? It's much too small to be a cigarette.

And speaking of small, Schwartzman and Portman look perfectly tiny together! Like the king and queen of Lilliput. It's a beautiful photograph.

Posted by nemo at September 3, 2007 9:20 PM

comment #17

Gabriel says ...

Gabriel wrote "Wes Anderson ....while amusing in any one film, gets old over the course of a decade, and almost seems cowardly."

This is my first post, btw. And I am definitely not a critic. Just a fan."

Gabriel did not write that. I agree with you wholeheartedly on Wes Anderson - though "Rushmore" is my favorite of his, there has been no drop-off in quality through any of his films (at least until "Darjeeling", which I haven't seen but am greatly anticipating). And the cumulative effect of his filmography - no matter how tonally/aesthetically/thematically similar they all may be - hasn't done anything to change that.

I do feel that the comments you quoted - attributable to The Movie Man, for the record - are relevant to Tarantino. I missed "Grindhouse" for whatever reason, but in speaking on his five solo features - each of them, singularly, is fantastic (fist yourself, DZ). But in his case, I am starting to get a little tired of the familiarity. This is not an original thought, by any means, but he would do well to take his considerable gifts (fist yourself, DZ) and do something that doesn't have easy-to-trace roots in past films.

Posted by Gabriel at September 3, 2007 10:59 PM

comment #18