The Darjeeling Limited (2009)

Director: Wes Anderson

Story: Wes Anderson, Jason Schwartzman, Roman Coppola

Cast: Owen Wilson, Jason Schwartzman, Adrien Brody

Time: 91 minutes

Bottom-line: Showcases Anderson’s style, but a disappointing film 

Made as a tribute to Indian director Satyajit Ray, Wes Anderson’s India-based drama is the tale of three brothers on a train journey in the subcontinent. The film stars Owen Wilson, Jason Schwartzman and Adrien Brody as the brothers, with Amara Khan and Anjelica Huston in the supporting roles, and several others like Bill Murray and Irrfan Khan chipping in with cameos. 

A man, Peter Whitman (Brody) barely boards the train The Darjeeling Limited, where he reunites with his brothers: Jack and Francis (Schwarzman and Wilson), who have not met since their father’s funeral one year earlier. Francis is still recovering from a suicide attempt, Jack is desperate to get back with his ex-girlfriend, and Peter’s wife is nearly eight months pregnant, and he wonders what sort of a father he will be. Francis plans a strict itinerary for the trip, but secretly wants the brothers to meet their estranged mother in the Himalayas. In a journey filled with petty fights, spiritual realisations, and flashes from the past, the three brothers experience an unforgettable trip.

The storyline and acting aspects of the film turned out to be below expectations. While the first half of the film had a proper flow of events and structure, the latter half seemed to fall apart; the writers just put in whatever idea came to their heads without any idea how to end the film. The flashback sequence is unnecessary, several cameos served no purpose, and the climax, was too sudden; there was nothing leading up to it. The basic theme of the film is to tell us the value of family – similar to The Royal Tenenbaums – but with an Indian backdrop. As the story progresses, the Indian elements become dominant, and the story gets distorted.

 

(From left) Schwartzman as Jack, Wilson as Francis
and Brody as Peter 

Anderson’s style of cinematography – he includes several long takes in this film – use of colour – even more vibrant in the subcontinental settings – and nature of characters are evident once again. For the first – and so far, only – time, he does not employ an original background score; the songs and score are adapted from several sources, including Satyajit Ray’s films. The absurdist sense of comedy is also well written into the script, mixing both slapstick and subtle humour, but in the first third of the film alone.

The acting showcases nothing special from any actor, which is sad, considering that every other film had at least one standout performance. Brody, Schwartzman and Wilson (whose face is covered throughout the film by bandages) all put on a sullen look throughout the film. I expected to see the charisma of Schwartzman that he displayed in Rushmore and Wilson’s comic nature, but neither of them brought out their best talents.

So, while the cinematography, colourful visual appeal and portrayal of the Indian subcontinent are the aspects I liked, the acting, storyline and the lack of humour made the film fall below the mark set by other Anderson films. As a Wes Anderson fan, you might still end up liking the film for his style, but overall, this is my least favourite of his directorial features.

My Rating: 2.5/5

Rotten Tomatoes rating: 69% 

The 39 Steps (1935)

Director: Alfred Hitchcock

Screenplay: Charles Bennett and Ian Hay (loosely based on the book by John Buchan)

Cast: Robert Donat, Madeleine Carroll

Music: Jack Beaver and Louis Levy

Time: 86 minutes

Bottom-line: Filled with twists; short, but engaging  

One of Hitchcock’s early British films, The 39 Steps is a wrong-man thriller where an everyman is mistakenly accused of murdering a spy. The film stars Robert Donat and Madeleine Carroll in the lead roles, with Godfrey Tearle and Lucie Mannheim to support them. The British Film Institute ranks the film as the fourth best British film of all time (after The Third Man, A Brief Encounter and Lawrence of Arabia). 

At a London music hall, the entertainer is a man with extraordinary powers of recall: Mr. Memory. Suddenly, shots are fired from a gun, and in the ensuing panic, a common man, Richard Hannay (Donat), is approached by a frightened woman, Annabella Smith (Mannheim), who later tells him that she is a spy, being chased by assassins. She mentions a certain  “the 39 steps” but does not reveal what it is. Later that night, Annabella is fatally stabbed, and in her last moments, she hands Hannay a map of Scotland. Hannay travels to the indicated place on the map, but halfway through his train journey, a young woman, Pamela (Carroll), gives him up the police. Hannay escapes, but once in Scotland, he realises that the danger has only increased, and soon he finds himself in the company of killers, spies, and Pamela.

Carroll as Pamela, and Donat as Hannay

The 39 Steps cuts right to the chase, and the pace of the story is exhilarating. There is no major plot twist, like several of Hitchcock’s later films, but there is always a surprise around the corner, and it’s never predictable. This is also a rare Hitchcock films with a lot of humour, from sarcastic remarks to smartly hilarious actions. The climax is most certainly unexpected, and can be considered to a brilliant plot twist or a disappointing one; I, for one, choose the former. Another interesting thing to note here is the scene where Hannay escapes the cops by joining a parade crowd; this was the first film to use that idea, later paid homage to by The Fugitive (1993).

There is minimal background score, and in fact, the music composers are often uncredited for the film. Robert Donat’s acting is a major boost to the film, with his wit, charm and charisma, very similar to the traits of Roger Thornhill later in North by Northwest. Madeleine Carroll’s role is Hitchcock’s first “prototype” of his typical female lead: blonde, and usually with a cold demeanour. The transition of Pamela’s character is another thing to notice: from loathing Hannay, to assuming him to be the murderer, to being handcuffed to him, and finally realising the truth behind everything.

The chase sequences are a bit comical, when they’re not supposed to be, and the background in several places is clearly artificial. Yet, these minor flaws apart, the good acting, excellent plot twists, and hints of the Hitchcockian elements that would later become famous, make this a memorable film.

My Rating: 4/5

Rotten Tomatoes rating: 98%

The Abyss (1989)

Director: James Cameron

Story: James Cameron

Cast: Ed Harris, Michael Biehn, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio

Music: Alan Silvestri

Time: 145 minutes

Bottom-line: A spooky, visually breath-taking sci-fi drama

A mammoth cinematic effort by James Cameron – and of course, his crew – The Abyss might be one of his unrecognised and underrated movies, but it is a sci-fi marvel. The film stars Ed Harris, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio and Michael Biehn in the lead roles, with few others in minor supporting roles. Among all of Cameron’s major films, I think it’s certain that it is The Abyss that pushed every crew member to his/her limits.

Cayman Trough: The submarine USS Montana has an encounter with an unidentified object underwater, and sinks near the trough. The US government sends a SEAL team to Deep Core, a private rig, to use as a base for operations to recover the sunken submarine, which also carries a nuclear warhead. The foreman of the SEAL team is “Bud” Brigman (Harris), and his ex-wife, Lindsey (Mastrantonio) is the designer of the rig, who also goes with the team. While hurricane threats cause panic on the surface, the underwater exploration has its own surprises, when Lindsey spots an unknown colourful object, that she later claims to be non-terrestrial intelligence. Soon, danger mounts as the rig is rocked by the hurricane, knocking off their mini-sub deeper into the trench and cutting off contact. The SEAL leader, Lt. Coffey (Biehn) seems to have plans of his own, and his selfish motives could well lead to a terrible disaster.

 

Harris as Bud, and Mary as Lindsey 

Most of the film is actually shot underwater. Cameron’s crew built two gigantic artificial tanks in the studio, with capacities of 2.5 and 7.5 million US gallons of freshwater (at that time, the largest freshwater tank!), and the crew spent as much as 6 hours underwater every day. Special suits, cameras and settings were used to create the depth of the ocean, and to ensure clear visual and sound underwater. Shooting also took place in an actual underground lake, in Missouri. This rigorous process is what led to a lot of tension and physical and emotional breakdowns among the acting crew, as well as making the film go $4 million over budget.

 

Biehn as Coffey

With this much effort having been put, the final result is visually dazzling in every way. The lighting and hues used, the action, camerawork and the beauty of the underwater world has been captured superbly, with assistance from Silvestri’s score as well. It’s no surprise that the film won the Oscar for best Visual Effects. The tension is masterfully created in the spooky and unknown atmosphere, and there are few scenes that intensify it even more – the one where Lindsey suffers from hypothermia and Bud’s final plunge into the trench, and the part where the crew meets the alien species, to name a few.

The film has a slow start, but picks up pace after Lindsey’s encounter with the alien species. The thing about the storyline that I didn’t like is that Cameron introduces the NTI species just enough to tempt our imagination, but never actually explores the idea. The species are just shown for about 5 minutes in between and then only at the end, while he could have used more of them in the story (he does, to some extent, in the special edition, with 25 more minutes of screen time). The climax is a bit of a disappointment too.

Usually, in Cameron’s films, there is one standout performance and the others just play along; here however, Biehn, Mary and Harris have all done their best (under enormous stress, given their working environment!). Biehn, after playing the good guy in The Terminator and Aliens, plays a cunning, psychotic, murderous villain with such panache (I also like his new look: with a moustache!) that it is jaw-dropping to watch! In short, watch The Abyss for its stunning visuals and grizzly atmosphere and superb acting; the storyline might put you off, but the film is a delight.

My Rating: 3.5/5

Rotten Tomatoes rating: 89%