I loved this movie! I finally saw it on Thursday. Going in, I was highly skeptical. I'm no Wes Anderson fanboy. His movies leave me either completely disappointed (Rushmore) or nonplussed (The Life Aquatic), or casually amused (Bottle Rocket, The Royal Tenenbaums). None of them have changed my life or connected with me in some deep way. But in Darjeeling, Anderson seemed more restrained then usual.
Like the twisted ensemble in The Royal Tenenbaums, Darjeeling's three central protagonists harbor layers of deep resentment for one another buried under layers of personality quirks. Here, though, Anderson has a much smaller volume of characters in his stable, so he can focus more intensely on them. And it's a short movie, too (not counting Hotel Chevalier), which I always appreciate.
Also, I have a major case of travel envy right now. That may explain why I liked it so much.
