"You think you could start forgiving me?”
-Royal Tenenbaum
The Royal Tenenbaums opens with a God’s
eye view shot of a library book, after which the film is supposedly based. This
book is actually nonexistent, so this is obviously to contribute to the film’s
tone. Wes Anderson’s hands enter the film’s frame for the first time ever in
his filmography, open up the book, and stamp it. This book setup is seen later
in the film, in chapter page inserts. This seems to echo the curtains of Rushmore, splitting the film up into
parts. This opening shot is quite possibly the most excellent and grand opening
to a Wes Anderson film, as it quickly sets up much of the rest of the film. And
after that exemplary shot, we enter into the rhythm of a stupendous
introduction, all set to an instrumental rendition of the Beatle’s Hey Jude. A highly emotional experience,
with some Anderson deadpan comedy sprinkled all throughout, The Royal Tenenbaums allows Wes to draw
upon his personal experience with his own parents’ divorce to make a great
family drama. In fact, this is actually the first Wes Anderson film I ever fell
in love with.
Wes’
style is far more withdrawn in this film than in its exciting brazenness in Rushmore. He places more focus on the
story this way, and he gives off a more comfortable and relaxed feeling.
Anderson is refined and restrains himself to give a story on a larger, more
natural and deep scale. Rushmore’s
energy and momentum was truly brilliant, but the thoughtful focus on characters
and story in this film is what makes it almost equally great. Despite all of
this, Wes Anderson’s style can still be found, and advancements can still be
noted. The greatest of these advancements in my opinion is the heavy use of
inserts. The most common and enormous inserts are large mosaics constructed of
many copies of a single book. It seems as if every adult character in the film
has written a book or play, and whenever a character is introduced we see their
work this way. Subtitled montages also bring back memories of the clubs montage
in Rushmore. The characters, for the
first time in Anderson history, have the ridiculously consistent wardrobe. This
is something that can be found in every other Wes Anderson from this point
onward. And like the Belafonte in The
Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, the Tenenbaum house on Archer Avenue feels
as if it has been cut in half, like we are observers to a stage production put
on by Max Fischer. There are also several bits of unexplained peculiarity, like
the violent and shocking in Eli Cash’s apartment, and the Gypsy Cab, which
appears conveniently and randomly.
As
for actors, Wes Anderson seems to be collecting more and more excellent
performers with each film. With each new film he makes, there are actors from
the previous one. Some of the most notable of these returns are Bill Murray,
Owen Wilson and Luke Wilson. Bill Murray gives a very depressed and lonesome
performance, likely his saddest ever. Luke Wilson gives his best performance of
his career, as does Gwyneth Paltrow. Both of them show some great emotion,
though Paltrow’s character does her best to hide it. Kumar Pallana also
returns, in his largest and most defined role for Wes Anderson. Possibly the
greatest addition to the cast that will return in an Anderson film is Anjelica
Huston. Though her performance in the film is clearly not as good as Gene
Hackman’s, Hackman does not make a return.
Through
Wes Anderson’s personal connection to the film’s story, he’s able to make what
was at the time, his most heavily emotional film. It has an incredibly unique
plot, drawing from a stereotypical setup and employing an enormous number of
moving parts. Instead of family separation being a possible consequence of the
events that occur in the film, it is actually a part of the premise of The Royal Tenenbaums.
The
characters are all very individual and distinct (other than Ari and Uzi who are
basically twins both in appearance and in attitude). Most of them could be seen
as the main character as they develop throughout the film and are affected by
the events in different ways. They are all constructed brilliantly. The
children of divorce, or separation in this case, which are Margot, Richie, and
Chas are all illustrations of the primary possibilities of children of divorce.
Richie is the kind, understanding outcome. Margot is the neutral outcome, and
Chaz is the angry and grudging outcome. Also, like many of Wes Anderson’s
characters, some of them try with great persistence to control things. Chaz and
Royal are the primary examples of this. Chas is constantly ordering around
family members. Royal calls the Tenenbaums house his in an angry conversation
with Richard Sherman, despite the fact that he’s practically a guest at this
time. Those who don’t try hard to control things are the kindest though not
quite the happiest. Richie is a perfect example; a constantly giving, kind and
loving soul, yet tortured by the restrictions that he places on himself. A
unifying factor of all the family members aside from the last name (though some
don’t even have that) is that they all need help. Chas and Eli muse on this fact
together near the end of the film.
The Royal Tenenbaums is one of Wes
Anderson’s most rhythmic films. Mark Mothersbaugh’s score helps construct this
rhythm, with soothing and melodic tunes, which use low dramatic strings that
sound very classical. A ‘Peanuts’ inspiration also assists with this
atmosphere. This inspiration is referenced in the soundtrack as it uses the
song ‘Christmas Time is Here’. As this is one of Wes Anderson’s saddest films,
it has one of the darkest moments ever in a Wes Anderson film. Despite this
dark depression, it was also likely the most beautifully shot film of his at
the time of its release. For example, the cemetery scene is especially
beautiful, taking place in fall and employing a rich brown palette.
Wes
Anderson’s achievements in The Royal
Tenenbaums are far calmer than Rushmore.
Though this, like all of Wes Anderson’s films, is a rather distinguishable step
in his excellent career, it’s much more of a midpoint, something resembling a
transition. It is nonetheless an original and individually excellent
masterpiece, and Anderson adds his personal touch with violence where the
characters have little to no reaction, deadpan comedy, and unique complexity to
the commonplace setup. The Royal
Tenenbaums is one of
Anderson’s most melancholy films, yet still retains Anderson’s great charm,
which is something that makes all of his films infinitely accessible and
remarkably appealing.
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