Review of The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) by Lerichem D — 14 Sep 2010

Grade: B+.

Wes Anderson made the satirific Rushmore, and this film, while not as funny or insightful, is still worthy for Wes. Anderson's taste for the comic may be skewed away from the status quo, but his and owen wilson's singular gift for portraying outcasts that seem somewhat normal makes his films worth visiting.

The episodic structure of the film (complete with prologue, chapters, and epilogue) is narrated by none other that Alec Baldwin, and his straight way of relaying the strange narrative is at times highly amusing. The film perhaps relies too heavily at times on Baldwin's exposition in order to reveal the past actions and present motivations of the Tenenbaums, instead of simply showing us the Tenenbaums.

Another problem I have with the film is overbearing polarity of the characters, whom I understand are characterized as such to legitimize the extreme dysfunctionality of the Tenenbaum family, but which also at times seems too forceful and contrived to be taken totally serious.

The success of this film lies in the small details; key moments that reside between the unfolding of the main plot, as well as the directorial bravura of Anderson himself, whose visuals and composition match the offbeat dialogue and characters to a tee.

The films also maintains interest by giving us family situations that at first seem not so abnormal, but then take turns of weirdness and irony which evoke the true outcast nature of the Tenenbaum family. Anderson's success comes not from merely setting up these situations, but by making them seem (somewhat) natural to the characters personalities; things never seem too grounded in reality however, since the tone of the film is never to take itself too seriously as a character study, instead seperating the Tenenbaums from the world around them in order to focus in on the family's extreme isolation from normalcy and the status quo.

The acting all around is top notch, with Gene Hackman doing for this film what Bill Murray did for Rushmore, although Royal is never as hopeless or depressed as Murray was in Rushmore, although he is just as cunning and thoughtless of other peoples opinions and emotions.

I dont love this movie but I do respect its originality and vision, and I think it succeeds much more than it fails.