Photo: Wes Anderson's The Royal Tenenbaums
Wes Anderson's The Royal Tenenbaums unfolds like a regal fairy tale. A king has been thrust from his family's kingdom and hopes to claw his way back. Anderson's respect for individualism means carefully isolating one Tenenbaum from the other; all are colorful and singular composites of a remarkable higher order, dignified by the director's stunning attention to detail (like the family's weather-beaten banner that waves gently atop their townhouse). The Royal Tenenbaums is a film of rare beauty, alive with humanity and crippling sadness. It earns its joy because Anderson can make an otherwise ancient cliché crackle as if it were new. Take Royal Tenenbaum (Gene Hackman), who is tactless but whose love for his family is absolute; he's the distant father who'll conspire for your love but earns it with a simple kiss on the cheek: "Thank you my sweet boy." At its simplest, Anderson's latest masterpiece becomes a paean to second chances.
Wes Anderson's The Royal Tenenbaums unfolds like a regal fairy tale. A king has been thrust from his family's kingdom and hopes to claw his way back. Anderson's respect for individualism means carefully isolating one Tenenbaum from the other; all are colorful and singular composites of a remarkable higher order, dignified by the director's stunning attention to detail (like the family's weather-beaten banner that waves gently atop their townhouse). The Royal Tenenbaums is a film of rare beauty, alive with humanity and crippling sadness. It earns its joy because Anderson can make an otherwise ancient cliché crackle as if it were new. Take Royal Tenenbaum (Gene Hackman), who is tactless but whose love for his family is absolute; he's the distant father who'll conspire for your love but earns it with a simple kiss on the cheek: "Thank you my sweet boy." At its simplest, Anderson's latest masterpiece becomes a paean to second chances.
