The Royal Tenenmbaums

Family is more than a word

The Royal Tenenbaums, directed by Wes Anderson, released in 2001 by Buena Vista Pictures, stars Gene Hackman, Anjelica Houston, Gwyneth Paltrow, Ben Stiller, Luke Wilson, Owen Wilson, Danny Glower and Bill Murray. These incredible gifted group of artists, star in this film which talks about the values that holds every family together. It points out feelings such as forgiveness, love, and respect. It also talks about family lies and deceptions. It does so by never breaking out of its quirky and comedic feel.

Royal Tenebaum (Hackman) and his wife Etheline (Houston) have three children. Their son Chas (Stiller), a young and businessman with a taste for real estate. Richie (Wilson), a promising tennis superstar, which won the master tennis championship three times, before reaching the age of twenty. And, their daughter Margot (Paltrow), who is an award winning playwright. However, their adolescent brilliance quickly vanishes when their father and mother separated and their father moves out. After all that, life for the three kids was all failure and disappointment. However, after years of being away, Royal unexpectedly returns and tries to get back together with his kids and ex-wife. He comes back to their lives, by telling them that he has only six weeks to live, when clearly it’s a lie.

The characters are extraordinarily developed. Paltrow (Margot), Luke Wilson (Richie) and Stiller (Chas) all bring a touch of sorrow and desperation to their roles, which make the viewer get emotionally involve with them. Hackman (Royal) seems to be having a lot of fun playing the character of the father. His main goal is to get back with his relatives no matter what. By doing so, he gets involve in very humorous situations, and comes out faultless. The movie revolves around his character. His scenes with Houston (Etheline) are funny as well as charming. She is able to deliver a real sense of motherhood in her character. Glover (Henry), who at first sight seems to be a submissive and sometimes even compliant character, turns out to be the strongest one of the eccentric family.

Owen Wilson (Eli) plays a man with a drug addiction problem. He manages to give a touching and funny performance. At the end he makes the viewer feel nothing more than pity for him.

The story takes place in a retro style New York City. Although it might seem like if they were in the late 1990’s, sometimes it feels the film is taking place in the 1970’s. There a lot of small details in the scenery, that makes the movie quite unusual. For example, taxi’s are operated by only one company called ‘’Gypsy Cab’’, and all the public transportation in the city is supply by the green line buses. The amazing blends of colors in the scenarios, give the film a very unique and artistic look.

The set of clothes use in the film, give the impression that they could have been put on in a sixties low budget movie. They match perfectly with each of the characters personalities, something not seen often in movies these days. The characters rarely change their outfits; they use the same clothes through out most of the scenes.