I admit that arrogance is in the atmosphere of all of Wes Anderson's films and his style will probably never change, but I LOVE every single one of them (even the overblown "The Life Aquatic" gets me giddy). He knows how to push my emotional buttons and entertain the hell out of me, something that I find rare in most movies I watch. Usually if I want to be entertained, I feel the movie has to compromise the emotional value and vice versa. With Wes, I'm laughing, being entertained by the characters AND caring for them. The second that Adrien Brody ran past Bill Murray in slow motion running toward the train as The Kinks' "This Time Tomorrow" kicked in, my heart started racing at the idea that I was about to watch a new film by Wes, which I look at as something special that comes every few years. Wes' detractors complain that he is a pretentious one-trick pony, a true statement, but to me, not a negative one because I love his universe and I love being invited into it in every one of his films. While I love both of them, I occasionally wish that Tim Burton would make a film that wasn't some kind of Gothic fairy tale, or that Paul Thomas Anderson would make a film that didn't star his own ego. With Wes, I want him to just continue what he's been doing: keep using his same awesome style while taking baby steps of progress. The writing, acting, directing, soundtrack, production design and cinematography (okay, EVERYTHING) are top-notch in "The Darjeeling Limited". Hell, if "Rushmore" wasn't such a damn masterpiece, I'd say Wes has made his best film yet.
Review of The Darjeeling Limited
