The Royal Tenenbaums Review

Whilst it may be some time until I can finally sit down and see a viewing of Wes Anderson’s latest film, The French Dispatch, I’m using the time wisely and revisiting some of his older films. I’d not been the biggest fan of The Royal Tenenbaums upon my last watch of it some years ago, and my review of it wasn’t the most flattering piece. A film that didn’t do anything for me outside of being a rather nicely directed. One of the most highly regarded films in the filmography of Anderson, reassessing The Royal Tenenbaums was an inevitability that I’d put off for quite some time.

It was well worth revisiting. A film that had once sat at a lukewarm rating has since been catapulted to one of the better films of Anderson’s directed works. Appreciating the subtleties and directing style on display more upon a second viewing, I found much more merit than I had first expected from The Royal Tenenbaums. The film feels like a rather traditional story of a man looking to reconnect with a family he has long since abandoned. Prying and meddling his way back into their lives to experience what he believes will bring him happiness, Royal Tenenbaum (Gene Hackman). The former head of the family eases his way back into family life with all the grace of a car crash, and it leads to truly dire consequences for those he loves.

Well performed on the whole, and perhaps the most impressive ensemble Anderson has ever assembled, the film is a masterful collection of conventional family drama mingling with feverish irreverence for its characters, yet genuine concern for their actions. It has such a sincere connection with the various roles and quirks placed upon the characters, and it’s a time where the fleeting eccentricities come into full form. The distance between expression and exposition is nicely presented, straight-faced characters delivering jovial lines that would put even the most ardent of stony-faced fun-haters into a fit of laughter.

The Royal Tenenbaum’s contains within it musings on repressed emotions between a tight family unit. Pooling the brothers and sisters all under one roof for the first time in years and navigating the difficulties they face now that they’re all grown up is a very harrowing ordeal. Although bright in colour and in tone, Anderson’s piece is no stranger to highlighting darker moments. These scenes of betrayal, disillusionment and jealousy are shot with surprising maturity, especially since the cast comprises acutely of comedians who have gone on to star in projects that would make a film like The Royal Tenenbaums feels astronomically out of their comfort zone.

Bittersweet in all the right places, coercing out of its cast a beautiful display of how family ties can never be broken, just dirtied and amended. The Royal Tenenbaums is charming, bringing together the typical stylish choices of Anderson’s work and the recurring stars he looks to employ in bringing his messages to light. I wish there were some way to describe how great the film is, but sometimes it’s best to understate just how good something can truly be, and I don’t possess within me the words necessary to describe how enjoyable this film really is.