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2001's The Royal Tenenbaums is Wes Anderson's third feature film, and it remains one of the director's finest achievements - it's a quirky, witty comedy-drama with an outstanding ensemble cast and a breathtaking sense of style, reinforcing the filmmaker's idiosyncratic and distinctive cinematic voice. An ambitious and thematically rich masterpiece about family dysfunction and gifted but troubled people, The Royal Tenenbaums derives inspiration from numerous sources, including French cinema (notably Louis Malle's pictures), Orson Welles's The Magnificent Ambersons, and assorted works of literature, with J. D. Salinger's books inspiring the characters and narrative structure. A commendable sense of editorial and visual precision permeates every frame of The Royal Tenenbaums, but Anderson does not keep viewers at arm's length despite the deadpan, almost arthouse filmmaking approach, as the director fills the picture with warmth and understated mirth. Furthermore, The Royal Tenenbaums grows richer and more eloquent with each viewing, as revisits allow the opportunity to savour more of the movie's boundless charms and gain a greater appreciation for the production's intricate niceties.
At a young age, the children of Royal (Gene Hackman) and Etheline Tenenbaum (Anjelica Huston) achieved great success, with Chas (Ben Stiller) finding success in finance while Richie (Luke Wilson) is a tennis prodigy and the adopted Margot (Gwyneth Paltrow) received acclaim as a playwright. But the Tenenbaum children's lives are thrown into disarray when Royal and Etheline announce their separation, and none of the child prodigies manage to capitalise on their vast potential once they reach adulthood. Years later, Royal is estranged from his family, and each Tenenbaum family member is enduring various struggles, declines and tragedies. Chas is raising his sons alone after the death of his wife, while Margot is stuck in a loveless marriage to a peculiar writer and neurologist named Raleigh St. Clair (Bill Murray), and Richie aimlessly globe-trots following a breakdown. After learning that Etheline's accountant, Henry Sherman (Danny Glover), has proposed to her, Royal decides he wants to win back his embittered family, especially since his divorce was never finalised and he has been evicted from the hotel where he was living. In desperation, Royal lies to Etheline, telling her that he has stomach cancer and will die in six weeks, resulting in a family reunion at their old home in New York City.
Anderson once again collaborated with Owen Wilson on the script for The Royal Tenenbaums following Bottle Rocket and Rushmore, though this is their final script collaboration to date, and it is also Wilson's last writing credit as of 2024. The pair spent two years composing the Oscar-nominated screenplay, allowing ample time to sufficiently develop and do justice to the complex narrative. The Royal Tenenbaums explores similar themes to Rushmore, as Anderson's previous movie was about an overachieving student who is incredibly intelligent but struggles to adjust to the expectations of the world around him. Meanwhile, The Royal Tenenbaums is more ambitious, concentrating on a whole family of unhappy prodigies with their individual quirks and anxieties. Miraculously, despite the extensive roster of characters, the film manages to explore each member of the Tenenbaum family with adequate dramatic depth, and no plot point feels undernourished. Indeed, the characters change throughout the narrative, but the transitions do not feel contrived or clichéd - instead, the people organically evolve in response to the sometimes calamitous occurrences and incidents. Furthermore, the dialogue is engaging and almost poetic in rhythm and vernacular, and the deadpan wit provides multiple belly laughs.
With a generous but not overwhelming $21 million budget supporting the production (which is more than the combined cost of Bottle Rocket and Rushmore), the visual artistry throughout The Royal Tenenbaums is staggering, from the intricately composed cinematography (courtesy of Anderson's frequent director of photography, Robert Yeoman) to the ornate production design and luscious art direction. Yeoman and Anderson ensure they do not waste a single frame, alternating between static photography and sturdy tracking shots, relying more on complex cinematography and lengthy shots than fast editing. Furthermore, Yeoman uses the whole negative, precisely arranging actors and props within the widescreen frame, and the colour palette looks distinctive and eye-catching yet gorgeously cinematic. Nobody could ever mistake The Royal Tenenbaums as the work of anyone other than Anderson, as no other filmmaker composes movies that look or sound like this. Furthermore, Mark Mothersbaugh's flavoursome accompanying score perfectly supports the visuals, helping to set the movie's offbeat tone, while Anderson also uses classical music and pop songs, including tracks from the Ramones and The Rolling Stones, and a fresh rendition of the Beatles song Hey Jude. None of the music feels out of place, with the soundtrack perfectly adding energy and soul to the story.
A film like The Royal Tenenbaums requires strong performances to bring the brilliant material to life, and Anderson fortunately assembled a superb ensemble cast teeming with talent. As the family patriarch, Hackman is exceptional, confidently creating a multi-layered character who wants to win back his family's affection but is unsure how to accomplish forgiveness or redemption. Despite lying about stomach cancer, Hackman remains a sympathetic character, which is a testament to the veteran actor's efforts, and it is impossible to imagine another performer playing the role as effectively. Alongside him, Danny Glover and Anjelica Huston bring further gravitas to the movie, while Gwyneth Paltrow delivers arguably her finest performance as the emotionally complex Margot. Co-writer Owen Wilson also appears as Eli Cash, Richie's best friend, adding another eccentric personality to the mix. Additionally, Ben Stiller and Luke Wilson turn in strong and measured performances, with Luke deliberately subdued as Richie while Stiller earns several laughs without resorting to over-the-top comedic antics. Despite limited screen time, Murray (who previously appeared in Rushmore) makes a terrific impression as Raleigh St. Clair, bringing his brand of deadpan humour to the production that is a perfect match for Anderson's comedic sensibilities. Alec Baldwin even provides a pitch-perfect voiceover that is as ideally deadpan as the other members of the ensemble cast, delivering the information in a matter-of-fact style befitting of the screenplay.
An unpredictable, offbeat film that defies convention and classification, The Royal Tenenbaums demonstrates Anderson's aesthetic precision and razor-sharp wit at its best, and it's hard to imagine the director ever topping it. Admittedly, with a beefy 110-minute running time, it could have used some tightening during the second act, in particular, but this is a minor quibble. The understated style and laid-back pacing do require some adjustment for viewers unfamiliar with Anderson's works, but The Royal Tenenbaums is worth the concentration. Perhaps the director's most mature film to date, it delivers clever dark humour with underlying melancholy and ample substance, while the on-screen displays of chapter titles throughout the film (formatted like a book, complete with prose) affords a fairy-tale quality to the narrative. Despite the myriad of influences, The Royal Tenenbaums still feels cohesive, and the stylistic approach suits the distinct disposition of his characters.
8.7/10
