“The Royal Tenenbaums” by Natasha Jenkins

Title/Year:  2001
Director/Birth Country/Year Born:  Wes Anderson/ Houston, TX, USA/ 1969

Budget:  $21,000,000
Gross:  $71,441,250 (Worldwide) (imdb)

Synopsis: 

The film takes an episodic look at the lives of three grown prodigies: Chas, Margot, and Richie Tenenbaum- as they return home to their mother, Etheline, with thoughts of betrayal, failure, and disaster.  When their estranged father, Royal, reemerges for shot at redemption with the fabrication of a terminal illness, the eccentric family finds a way to overcome their hang-ups and reunite. 

Narrative and Visual Keywords:

Dark Comedy, Novelesque, Dysfunctional Family, Bourgeois Lifestyle, Depression

Characterization/ Dialogue:

The three main characters can be identified by their feelings of discontent.  Chas copes with the death of his wife by overprotecting his two sons, Ari and Uzi.  Margot’s father issues are insinuated through her promiscuity and marriage to a much older, Raleigh St. Clair.   Richie’s secret love for his adopted sister ruins his career and leads him to attempt suicide.

Although each character’s outlook and situation seems bleak, the lines are teeming with insensitive humor that plays off of life’s little cruelties.  The dialogue is sharp and witty, sometimes invokes an ominous narrator, and uses a narrative structure that seems more like a novel at times. 

Camera/lighting/editing technique:

Director of Photography, Robert D. Yeoman, has worked with Wes Anderson on most of his films, creating breathtaking shots full of detail and movement.  The extensive panning, tilts, and jib shots were so obviously blocked to perfection; it creates fluidity within the location and the scene.  One of my favorite shots tracks the different family members across the front of the house toward the end of the film; it moves through the set creating a sense of visual connection just as each character begins to find resolution.  The final shot is quite memorable, with its slight pan and manipulated frame rate, capturing the whole family as they leave Royal’s funeral.  The lighting was a mixture of dramatic and natural lighting.  The film’s pacing is impeccable and it utilizes the montage pretty effectively.  

Political/ Social Commentary:

The film doesn’t take any political stance, but touches on different sociological issues such as divorce, coping with death, unlikely relationships, and maintaining the bourgeois lifestyle.

Historical Relevance/ Recognition

The story holds no historical relevance, but won several awards including: CFCA Award, AFI Film Award, CDG Award, Golden Globe

Notable Collaboration:

Wes Anderson has assembled a familiar cast and crew.  Most of the crewmembers like the Production Designer: David Wasco, Producer: Barry Mendel, and Director of Photography: Robert D. Yeoman.  Also, the Wilson brothers, Bill Murray, Anjelica Huston, and Kumar Pallana have all made appearances in some of Anderson’s other films. 

Random fact, Etc.

Continuity: Royal's cigarette jumps from his hand to the ashtray repeatedly when he is having a conference with his three children.

Wes Anderson’s films are very stylistic and character driven, that has always set him apart.  In 1996, when Bottle Rocket was released, similar audiences might have also seen Fargo, Trainspotting, From Duck ‘til Dawn, Swingers, and Waiting for Guffman.  These are all great indie productions, but Anderson’s French New Wave influence and the depiction of bourgeois family life has allowed him to make a name for himself. 

Anderson spends a lot of time of telling the same stories with incredible attention to detail.  He has the ability to sum up a character using their own surroundings or even physical interactions.  He tends to create stories that deal with family issues, where the main characters must decide to make their own decisions.  He does a brilliant job of creating the character’s environment, and eliminates anything that would distract the viewer from the story.  

 

Wes Anderson has definitely evolved throughout his career, but continues to integrate and refine the same style that made him so well known.   I imagine that he will stick with the cast and crewmembers that make his films so recognizable.  I have to admit, I like his later work much more because of the budgets he’s had to bring the stories to life.