The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)

Director:

Wes Anderson

Writers (WGA):

Wes Anderson (written by) &
Owen Wilson (written by)

Release Date:

14 December 2001 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

Family Isn't A Word... It's A Sentence.

Plot:

An estranged family of former child prodigies reunites when one of their member announces he has a terminal illness.

Plot Keywords:

Child Prodigy | Terminal Illness | Genius | Recurrent Stabbing In The Gut | Car Crash

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 9 wins & 27 nominations

Cast

Gene Hackman	...	Royal Tenenbaum
Anjelica Huston	...	Etheline Tenenbaum
Ben Stiller	...	Chas Tenenbaum
Gwyneth Paltrow	...	Margot Tenenbaum
Luke Wilson	...	Richie Tenenbaum
Owen Wilson	...	Eli Cash
Bill Murray	...	Raleigh St. Clair
Danny Glover	...	Henry Sherman
Seymour Cassel	...	Dusty
Kumar Pallana	...	Pagoda
Alec Baldwin	...	Narrator (voice)
Grant Rosenmeyer	...	Ari Tenenbaum
Jonah Meyerson	...	Uzi Tenenbaum
Aram Aslanian-Persico	...	Young Chas Tenenbaum
Irene Gorovaia	...	Young Margot Tenenbaum

MPAA:

Rated R for some language, sexuality/nudity and drug content.

Runtime:

110 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Australia:M (TV rating) | Malaysia:18PL | Malaysia:U (cut) | Iceland:12 | Singapore:M18 (re-rating) | Philippines:PG-13 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:14A (Ontario) (video rating: 2004) | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba) | Canada:AA (Ontario) (original rating) | USA:R (certificate #38556) | Argentina:13 | Australia:MA | Brazil:14 | Finland:K-11 | France:U | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIB | Ireland:12 | Netherlands:MG6 | New Zealand:R13 | Norway:11 | Peru:14 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG (cut) | South Korea:15 | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15

Filming Locations:

144th Street & Convent Avenue, Harlem, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

American Empirical Pictures

Trivia:

Margot is said to keep a secret studio under the name Helen Scott. Helen Scott was the name of one of 'Francois Truffaut's closest American friends and confidants.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Pagoda stabs Royal outside the house, we see him holding the knife in his right hand as he opens the door with his left. When it cuts to a wider shot of him stabbing Royal, the knife is in his left hand.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Narrator: Royal Tenenbaum bought the house on Archer Avenue in the winter of his 35th year. Over the next decade, he and his wife had three children, and then they separated.

Movie Connections:

References The Graduate (1967)

Soundtrack:

Look At Me

The perfect balance of drama and comedy

I loved this film.

The Tenenbaum's dysfunction (while amplified for the screen) is quite an accurate portrayal of family life. Families are, essentially, groups of people living in each other's pockets, and, invariably, those people who love you and hate you the most.

Don't get me wrong, Royal and his (thermo)nuclear family of brilliant buffoons do not represent my family (or any other in the world I think!) but the family united against a miscreant father is a motif a lot of people can understand. It is this common humanity that really appeals to me as a film watcher, and what, ultimately made this film so very memorable to me.

The ensemble cast is astonishingly proficient. They all lend a perfect quirkiness to the roles. Anjelica Houston is the perfect former Mrs Royal Tenenbaum, down to the smallest nuance, Ben Stiller and Luke Wilson turn in wonderful performances, and this is the only role I've seen Gwenyth Paltrow in where I actually thought she was someone other than Gwenyth Paltrow (this is not an insult, it's just that people don't always do it for everyone, you know...?). Bill Murray, Gene Hackman, Owen Wilson, all excellent, all the time.

The black comedy counterbalanced with the drama of the issues raised in this film left me feeling like I'd witnessed a film event, rather than just another film. I loved every frame of it, from the Baldwin narrated opening, to the final tying up of ends. It never dwelled on melodrama, or the more potentially unsavoury elements, and it didn't sink into the schmaltzy "We all love each other" end it could well have. It began perfectly, and it ended perfectly.

I can't recommend this movie more highly. It's a must see for anyone who loves quirky and emotive storytelling, great characters and beautiful dialogue.

10/10