I won’t deny that I’m a massive fan of Wes Anderson’s work.  His attention to detail, focus on flawed, failed characters and gorgeous cinematography have converted me to his legion of fans, despite missteps like The Fantastic Mr. Fox.  While I’d like to review Bottle Rocket or Rushmore, I thought I’d start with the very first Anderson movie I saw, The Royal Tenenbaums.

Opening with a narration set to an instrumental version of Hey Jude, Anderson presents us a story of three incredible child prodigies whose lives have fallen to stagnation and ennui.  They are the gifted businessman (Chaz), the avant-garde playwright (Margo) and the tennis star and erstwhile painter (Richie).  The three started as an amazing phenomenon, covered and adored by the media from the day they were able to truly showcase their talents to the world.  Coupled with this is the family’s friend Eli Cash, portrayed by Owen Wilson in one of his few good roles.  Wilson manages to pull off desperate eagerness well, providing the insight of a normal person into the privelaged world of the Tenenbaums.  Throughout the opening we are taken on a tour of Anderson’s fantasy-land New York City, a place that encapsulates the lofty highs and crushing lows of human ambition and a place which has devoured the lives of three once promising stars.

He’s viewed with scorn and derision by his family with the exception of Ritche, who still loves his father despite the man’s many failings.  Etheline on the other hand devotes her life to nurturing and raising her children, never failing to support them no matter how degraded and morally bankrupt they become. The opening narration ends and the film begins proper as Royal is thrown out of current lodgings and decides to slime his way back into his family’s life as he finds his estranged wife may be getting married.  It’s at this moment I fell in love with Hackman’s portrayal of Royal.  He managed to make a character anyone else would find vile and selfish into a puckish, loveable old man.  I don’t know how he did it and I still wonder, since when I think of Royal’s character devoid of Hackman’s performance I’m utterly disgusted.

Succeeding were so many other family-based comedies have failed before, we watch as the far-flung Tenenbaums come back together, mired in the reprehensible plan Royal has come up with to get back in their lives.

Special note also goes to Bill Murray, portraying the meek and mild Raleigh St.Clair, Margot’s husband and neurologist.  Murray manages to infuse the character with a simpering, sad and withdrawn tone, giving us the image of a brilliant scientist who has absolutely no idea how to relate to his wife.

The movie progresses and we find out the family’s darker secrets, from Margot’s checkered past, Richie’s unrequited love for his adopted sister and just how deeply Royal will sink into moral depravity in order to get his way again.

This action is highlighted by two things which drive the movie’s heart-wrenching charm home.  The incredible soundtrack and the approach Anderson takes to directing.  The entire film is punctuated at the exact right times with the exact right songs, from The Ramones to Elliott Smith.  Likewise, the cinematography and the framing of the shots Anderson makes are almost perfect and engrained with subtlety.  Better yet, Anderson manages to take what could have been a tired character study that tried too damn hard to be quirky (I’m looking at you, Garden State) and makes it work.   

The film is brilliant from start to finish, drawing inspiration from titles such as The Magnificent Ambersons and Franny and Zooey. Anderson tells a tale of a family’s brilliant rise, staggered fall and eventual resurrection as they grow together once more.