The Venice Film Festival is in full swing, and Time Out London is there to report on Wes Anderson‘s latest, The Darjeeling Limited — not to mention the short “prequel” screening before it, Hotel Chevalier.
Darjeeling, according to Time Out, is every bit the qualified success that other critics’ lukewarm reviews have suggested. From the article:
Structurally, the film isn’t entirely sound, and the emotional depth of both ‘Hotel Chevalier’ and certainly ‘The Royal Tenenbaums‘ and ‘Rushmore‘ is never quite achieved.
The movie is reviewed in further detail at the link below, but what some fans really want to hear about is Hotel Chevalier — specifically, whether or not those rumors of Natalie Portman appearing in the buff turned out to be true. Turns out the answer is yes:
If there’s one element of ‘Hotel Chevalier’ that’s surprising for Anderson, it’s a strong sense of romance and sexuality: in one shot, Jason Schwartzman gently pulls off Portman’s clothes to reveal her naked body from behind, and a later shot has Portman, nude, standing still in a doorway, one foot up against the frame…It’s the sexiest thing that Anderson has ever done.
Of course, as other outlets have pointed out, the normal caveats apply: It could be a body double, British tabloids are untrustworthy, et cetera. And since Chevalier won’t be playing alongside Darjeeling in theaters, there’s some question as to where (or whether) it’ll reach a wider audience anyway; according to the Timeout article, it may “only be available to see online.” But take heart, fanboys — if there’s one thing the Internet has taught us, it’s that where there’s skin, there’s a way.
Source: Time Out London
