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THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS
Review by Michael Jacobson
Stars:
Gene Hackman, Anjelica Huston, Gwyneth Paltrow, Ben Stiller, Luke Wilson,
Owen Wilson, Danny Glover, Bill Murray
Director: Wes Anderson
Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1. DTS 5.1,
Dolby Surround
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 2.40:1
Studio: Criterion
Features: See Review
Length: 110 Minutes
Release Date: July 9, 2002
“Are
you getting a divorce?”
“Well,
it doesn’t look good.”
“Is
it our fault?”
“Well,
we had to make certain sacrifices in order to have children…but, no...”
When
I watched The Royal Tenenbaums, I couldn’t help but think of a story I
heard when I was a kid about a father who placed his little boy on the kitchen
counter and told him to jump into his arms.
It was supposed to be an exercise in trust. When the kid jumped, the dad made no move to catch
him…CRASH! “Let that be a
lesson to you, son,” he said. “Trust
no man. Not even your own
father.”
Royal
Tenenbaum (Hackman) is such a father in the latest movie offering from director
Wes Anderson, co-written by him and Owen Wilson. This is the same pair that brought us the delightfully
offbeat Bottle Rocket and the perfect character comedy Rushmore.
Now, they’ve taken their penchant for creating great characters and
looking at life in an odd but truthful way, and created a film that walks a fine
line between gentle humor and oblique sadness.
I
was immediately struck by how much the picture reminded me of my favorite
American author, J. D. Salinger, and his many works about the Glass family.
Like those immortals of literature, the Tenenbaums are a frightfully
dysfunctional family where genius children have grown into neurotic failures as
adults, where thoughtless words cut deep, and where bitterness and resentment
are underrated emotions.
The
movie plays like a novel, complete with chapters that intercut the plot the way
the curtains did in Rushmore. We
get a prologue, where we can see the three Tenenbaum children as brilliant and
gifted, and how those gifts weren’t enough to shield them from a careless
father. Chas (Stiller) may have
been blessed with a head for finance and real estate, but still carries around
the physical mark from when Royal turned on him in a dangerous game.
Margot (Paltrow) was penning plays and winning awards in her youth, until
her dad’s ridiculously flip words gave her pause (that and the fact that as an
adopted child, she never ceased hearing from him that she wasn’t his
“real” daughter). And Richie
(Luke Wilson) was once the second ranked junior tennis player in the world and
Royal’s favorite…until an emotional setback we don’t understand til later
in the story caused his meltdown, and the disappointment that Royal never
learned how to deal with.
Royal
actually separated from the kids’ mother Etheline (Huston) when they were very
young, but oddly enough, they never divorced…but even out of their house,
Royal maintained just enough of a presence to keep his kids off balanced and
insecure. Not because he didn’t
love them, mind you…just that his views on parenting were not quite the stuff
of Dr. Spock.
And
again, that’s just the prologue. The
meat of the story takes place 22 years later.
All three kids are merely shadows of their former glorious selves as
adults. Each is shielded and
distant in his or her own way, and wear the effects of their defenses loudly and
visibly. Chas, whose wife had died
in a freak accident, raises his two boys on his own, and they always wear loud
red matching sweat suits. Margot is
married to a much older studious man, Raleigh St. Clair (Murray), but spends
most of her time in the bathroom moping and smoking, shielded by black eye
shadow and a fur jacket. Richie is
still the most sensitive of the lot and in many ways the most lost, wandering
through life behind dark glasses and a thick beard.
Their
lives are all complicated by the sudden arrival of Royal, who announces he is
dying and wants to spend his last bit of time reconciling with his family.
Before long, all the kids are back home, each with an individual reason.
Perhaps all are seeking one last shot at the childhood that eluded them
and left them as has-beens as young adults, waiting for the promise of their
youth to finally pay up.
The
situation is both comical and touching. Royal
isn’t what I’d call a bad man by any stretch, but sometimes, he seems just
the right mix of being hard to like and impossible to dislike at the same time.
Has he learned much in his two decades of near isolation from his family?
Maybe only that he needs them more than he thought, but how to love them
still eludes him like the last digit of pi.
The presence of the first serious suitor in his wife’s life, Henry
Sherman (Glover), isn’t making him any more calm or rational.
This
is a superb cast from top to bottom, headed by the under-appreciated Gene
Hackman in the title role. He plays
Royal with all the sorrowful ineptness of a man who doesn’t realize how bad
what he’s saying sounds. Gwyneth
Paltrow as Margot is another career mark for the Oscar winning actress, who
isn’t afraid to discard her normally pretty face and dig deep into a wounded
character for the sake of the story. Ben
Stiller, whom many love and many hate, proves here his ability to go beyond the
crude comedy he’s most known for. And
Luke Wilson makes Richie shine through though his face is almost shielded in
anonymity for most of the film.
These
are wonderfully rich, human, and flawed characters created by Wes Anderson and
Owen Wilson, whose turn as neighbor Eli Cash I haven’t even touched upon.
Like Rushmore, this is a picture that works because the authors
have faith in the people they’ve brought to life, and instinctively feel the
potential for drama and comedy within them all.
There is sadness, to be sure, but not always of the tearful kind…more
the kind that brings a wistful smile.
Video
****
This
is an outstanding anamorphic offering from Criterion. Wes Anderson’s unique vision for the Tenenbaum house and
the world it exists in translates beautifully to DVD, with rich, vibrant colors
(sometimes deliberately clashing, but to good effect), sharp, crisp lines and
strong detail levels throughout. The
art direction really shines through with the way this disc renders the
beautifully lit and photographed interiors.
Highest marks.
Audio
***
Though
offering both DD and DTS 5.1 surround tracks, this is a character-oriented
story, so don’t expect much from the rear stage or the subwoofer.
The best aspect of the audio, as with most of Anderson’s films, is the
music, and right from the opening strains of “Hey Jude” played on a
harpsichord, the songs are a plus, as is Mark Mothersbaugh’s lively score.
Dialogue is superbly clean and clear throughout.
A good effort.
Features
****
This
is another impressive double disc offering from Criterion…Disc One contains a
very good commentary track from Wes Anderson, who, in a mild mannered way,
explains the origins of the project, the details of filming, his thoughts on the
characters and more…a pleasant listen. Disc
Two contains the remaining features, with an introduction by Ben Stiller if you
click on the Criterion logo at the top. There
is also a half hour portrait on Anderson made by master documentarian Albert
Maysles, about a half hour’s worth of interviews with all the principal cast
members (you can watch them all at once, or select the one you want to see
first), two trailers, a gallery of artwork and photos, a 15 minute excerpt from
“The Peter Bradley Show” featuring interviews with some minor cast members,
a small number of cut scenes, and a nice insert featuring the drawings of Eric
Anderson. A nice package overall.
Summary: