By Robert Seebach
The Darjeeling Limited is a film about three estranged brothers who reunite for a spiritual journey across India aboard The Darjeeling Limited Railways. The film was directed by Wes Anderson- director of Rushmore and The Royal Tenenbaums– and was released by Fox Searchlight Pictures in 2007. Wes Anderson co-wrote the screenplay along with Roman Coppola and Jason Schwartzman. The film stars Owen Wilson, Jason Schwartzman and Adrien Brody.
The Darjeeling Limited is more than just a story about three brothers reuniting after being estranged for over a year following their father’s death. It is a film that explores the grieving process from three different perspectives.
Wes Anderson has been criticized by some as creating films which are more style than substance. I’ve never agreed with this and The Darjeeling Limited, perhaps more than other films of Anderson, is a perfect rebuttal. This film explores the subtle nuances of the human experience. In particular, this film explores the complexities of the grieving process. It is humorous, quirky, and sad; and that is why I love it. Too often movies attempt to portray difficult emotional subjects in a way which feels pre-packaged. Anderson is relentless in his decision to portray these emotions in a way which feels authentic.
Three brothers, Francis, Peter, and Jack, travel separately to India and reunite on a train to journey through the Indian countryside. From their first couple of interactions, we understand that these brothers have not spoken or seen each other in quite a while. We soon learn that this estrangement was precipitated by the death of their father.
Francis, played by Owen Wilson, expresses his desire to reconnect with his brothers, who at first seem ambivalent towards the idea. While this film is about three brothers rekindling their relationship, it has more to do with the grieving process.
Psychiatrist Elisabeth Kubler-Ross developed the five stages of grief in 1969. In this model Kubler-Ross outlines the five stages of the grieving process as: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and Acceptance. The basic concept is that when one experiences a loss, the individual goes through a series of emotions. Each emotion is necessary and an individual will often vascillate between these emotions. The end goal is to experience and process the complex range of emotions following a loss, and reach Acceptance.
Throughout the film, we see each character weaving in and out of these stages. Anderson does an excellent job showing each character’s grief in action through their behaviors and a series of flashbacks.
This is a story of how three individuals attempt to grieve by isolating themselves from each other. The audience sees this played out in unhealthy behaviors and coping skills, which are often self-destructive. We discover that these characters are grieving more than the lose of their father; they are grieving the loss of their connection to each other.
Before taking a look at each character individually, it is worth noting that every decision made by Anderson is done so with the intent of presenting these characters as damaged souls.
Each character’s manner of speech is often bordering on monotone. They present with a flat affect. And their emotions are not regulated well.
I found the attire worn by the three brothers to be revealing as well. Each wears slacks, a sport coat and a button down shirt of neutral color. Firstly, this gives the audience a piece of knowledge about the social economical class from which these characters belong. It lets us know that these brothers come from a wealthy family. This is also made apparrent by other means throughout the film. Francis has an assistant who is traveling with him. In The Hotel Chevalier – the short film which precedes the feature film – when Jack’s ex-girlfriend asks how much his hotel room costs, Jack makes a joke about it, as if it is of no concern to him. I also see the wardrobe of the characters as a mask; a nice exterior to hide their inner turmoil.
So let’s look at each brother individually, starting with the oldest brother. Even though Francis is the one who takes the initiative to organize this trip, he is in my opinion, the brother about whom we know the least.
Francis Whitman is the oldest brother. He arranges the trip on the Darjeeling Limited. Francis appears with his head bandaged and soon tells his brothers what happened. He tells them that he was in a motorcycle accident and almost died, which caused him to have an epiphany – he needs to reconnect with his brothers. We learn later that Francis’s accident was more than just an accident. He drops hints during his initial telling of the story, such as mentioning that he lives alone now. There is an implication that Francis had a break-up with his significant other.
Francis takes control of every situation. He prints out laminated itineraries, orders their meals for them, and even asks his brothers, “Did I raise us, kind of?” (The Darjeeling Limited, 00:11:27 – 00:11:31)
As the brothers sit for their first meal, they exchange various intoxicants each of them they have procured for the trip. The use of substances, is in some ways “Bargaining” on the part of each brother. All of Francis’s planning, pseudo-parenting, and controlling could be construed as part of “Bargaining”‘ as described by Kubler-Ross. The idea of – “If I do this, control this, then things will be okay.” This is the whole point of Francis’s planned journey, taking his brothers to holy sites, performing rituals, and ultimately to see their mother in the Himalayan mountains, which Francis does not initially tell his brothers about. Francis is attempting to control as a means to cope.
Francis, like his brothers, is rooted in the “Denial”, “Anger” and “Depression ” stages of grief. After all, they haven’t seen each other in a year, isolating themselves from each other because the very sight of one another would remind them of the loss of their father. The denial is so strong with each character that throughout most of the film each brother focuses on secondary events in their lives in which to place blame. Francis even states at one point, “We’re in an emergency here.” “I got my face smashed in, Jack’s heart has been ripped to shreds, and “Rubby” ( Peter) is having a child.” (The Darjeeling Limited, 00:25:57 – 00:26:04) While these events are certainly important, they are not the cause of their grief. This film is about the journey through these stages of grief towards “Acceptance.”
Peter Whitman is the middle brother. Peter left behind his pregnant wife to reunite with his brothers in India. Our introduction to Peter is him running alongside Bill Murray’s character, trying to catch the train. Bill Murray’s character doesn’t make the train. Peter does. Peter stands at the back landing of the train looking at Bill Murray’s character with a slight grin on his face, as if he is taking pleasure in the misfortune of another. For a brief moment, Peter feels good about himself.
Like Francis, Peter is deeply rooted in “Denial”, “Anger”, and “Depression.” Peter appears wearing his deceased father’s glasses and using other personal items, such as his father’s razor, much to the annoyance of his brothers. This is Peter’s way of remaining close to his father – not letting him go. We see Peter’s anger as well. He is curt with fellow passengers, and gets into a brawl with Francis.
Peter is the first brother to show any real sadness. This occurs when Jack asks if either of his brothers would like to read a short story he’d written. The story is autobiographical. Peter reads it at the table during their first meal on the train. He chuckles at one point as he reads. He gets up, goes to the rest room and reads the story over again in privacy with tears welling up in his eyes. His initial chuckles may have been a defense mechanism. Perhaps Peter felt uncomfortable displaying feelings of sadness in front of his brothers and thus decided to excuse himself to go to the rest room.
When Peter becomes uncomfortable, he puts on his father’s glasses. As the film progresses, we see Peter doing this less and less. It starts at the funeral of the Indian boy, whose death Peter feels responsible, having not been able to rescue him from the river. (More on this scene later) On their way to the funeral the brothers walk to a tuk tuk. Once they get into the tuk tuk, Peter puts on his father’s glasses, but spontaneously decides to put them on his forehead instead. He turns to his right and looks endearingly at his brothers. It is at this point where we see the one and only flashback in the film. The flashback is a mirror image from the tuk tuk in the sense that the brothers are sitting in similar positions in the back of a limousine on the way to another funeral – their father’s
Peter asks the driver to make a stop at a garage where his father’s Porshe is being serviced. Even though they are running late, Peter insists they stop in order to get the car so that he can drive it to the funeral. This is the genesis of Peter’s coping mechanism of using his father’s possessions in order to cope with his feelings of grief. This can be construed as a manifestation of the “Denial” and “Bargaining” stages.
Jack is the youngest brother. Jack vacillates between all five stages. We get an extra glimpse of Jack through the short vignette The Hotel Chevalier which can be viewed prior to the main feature. Jack is “running”, which means he is in “Denial”. Through conversations with his estranged girlfriend in The Hotel Chevalier – played by Natalie Portman – we understand that Jack has been nomadic since his father’s death approximately one year ago. This “running” also plays into Jack’s “Bargaining”. ‘If I keep moving, I’ll be okay.’ ‘I won’t have to deal with reality.’ He is also in an enmeshed relationship with his former girlfriend. There is a sense that Jack knows this relationship is not healthy, but it is familiar and something he hangs onto. Throughout the film, Jack’s brothers are concerned about this unhealthy relationship and try to protect Jack from it.
Jack ultimately comes to terms with this as evidenced in a scene near the end of the film in which Jack reads the ending of an autobiographical short story he’s been writing. Jack reads, “He would not be going to Italy.” This is in reference to Jack having purchased airline tickets to Italy, presumably to meet up with his estranged girlfriend.
Jack’s “Anger” comes out interestingly, when his brothers are arguing with each other. There is a scene in which Francis and Peter are antagonizing each other and end up wrestling on the floor of the train cabin. Jack, usually calm and with flat affect, becomes emotionally charged at this site. He grabs a can of mace from his luggage and sprays into his brother’s faces, shouting, “stop including me.” (The Darjeeling Limited, 00:41:31 – 00:41:34) In reality, I think Jack often feels as though he is not included, perhaps because he is the youngest.
“Depression” has a hold of Jack. He is quiet, isolating, lonely and abusing substances such as cough syrup in an attempt to self medicate his depression. He also uses sex as an unhealthy coping mechanism. This is evident by his codependent relationship with his ex-girlfriend, as well as his relationship with the train stewardess, Rita. Jack feels as though he cannot really connect with anyone.
In The Hotel Chevalier there is a scene in which jack puts on a song just prior to his estranged girlfriend entering the hotel room titled “Where Do You Go To (My Lovely)” by Peter Sarstedt. He specifically chooses this song as if there is an emotional attachment or history associated with it. Jack plays this song on the Darjeeling Limited later in the main feature prior to Rita entering his cabin. The playing of this song is an emotional tether; it connects Jack with memories of emotions which he is currently unable to fully access.
The turning point of the film is the death of the Indian in the river. After having been kicked off of the Darjeeling Limited due to bringing a poison snake on board, the brothers are walking with their luggage on the banks of a river. They watch as three young Indian boys on a raft are battling with the rapids. The raft flips over, spilling the boys into the river. The Whitman brother spring into action, jumping into the raging river in an attempt to rescue the boys. Francis and Jack safely bring two of the boys to the bank of the river. Peter loses hold of the third boy in the rapids. The boy dies. Peter shows little emotion as he holds the deceased boy in his arms. He dissociates. Each brother dissociates during various scenes throughout the film.
-The Darjeeling Limited. Dir. Wes Anderson. Fox Searchlight Pictures, 2007. Film, 00:50:03 – 00:50:06
The brothers arrive at the poor village of the boys. Peter is the most affected by this tragedy. The boy who perished was the boy Peter was attempting to save. Also, Peter’s wife is pregnant and he will soon be a father. We see him interacting with the parents and young children of the village as a father-to-be.
A village boy invites the brothers to attend the funeral. This is the beginning of their spiritual journey of which they set out days before. Referring back to Peter’s analysis: It is after the funeral when all three brothers are sitting in the tuk-tuk, we see Peter instinctively reach to place his father’s glasses on. But instead of doing so, Peter slides the glasses onto his forehead. The experience of the boy’s funeral enlightens Peter.
The brothers go to the airport intending to go their separate ways until they decide that they need to see their mother after all. So they travel to the Himalayan convent where she’s been hiding out. They confront her about abandoning them after their father’s death. Again, the anger comes out. Their mother, who unbeknownst to the audience, has been going through her own grieving process. It is what led her to a distant land to live and work in a convent. She is not ready to see her children, let alone process the emotions associated with that. So she leaves early one morning. The brothers feel abandoned again. The entire time, Francis, Peter, and Jack have been grieving the loss of their father, but they have also been grieving the loss of their mother who abandoned them in their time of need.
The ending of the film is actually a beginning. The brothers arrive at the airport, once again intending to part ways. There is a discussion, which we the audience cannot hear over the sounds of the engines on the tarmac. The brothers talk back and forth and then they rip up their boarding passes. The Whitman brothers have decided to stay in India, fulfill their spiritual journey and truly go through the grieving process – together, as brothers. We can only hope that they find “Acceptance”.
Works Cited
The Darjeeling Limited. Dir. Wes Anderson. Fox Searchlight Pictures, 2007. Film
The Hotel Chevalier. Dir. Wes Anderson. Fox Searchlight Pictures, 2007. Film
Kubler-Ross E (1969). On Death and Dying. New York: The Macmillan Company
Kubler-Ross E, Kessler D (2014). On Grief and Grieving: Finding the Meaning of Grief through the Five Stages of Loss. New York: Scribner.
Sarstedt, Peter. “Where Do You Go To (My Lovely)? Where Do You Go To (My Lovely)? (Single) , United Artists, 1969