notafilmcritic: "The Darjeeling Limited" [B-]

Three brothers set out on a spiritual quest in India a year after their father's funeral. Of course, what they find is not what they expect. But they learn about life, death, family, and each other. Presented in a meta-reality style similar in feeling to the director's previous "The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou", this film is never quite as potent or funny as the earlier work. The acting and directing have the potential of being great, but the script never quite gets us to care about the characters as much as we should. The series of adventures the brothers have come across as flimsily threaded vignettes, rather than a compelling story. The meandering style allows the viewer's eye and mind to also wander a bit too much over the background characters and setting. Even so, I found myself drawn in to the brothers' misadventures and strangely satisfied with the film's almost predictable ending.