by Gino Gianoli

Created on: January 14, 2007   Last Updated: May 09, 2007

An Aesthetic Analysis of Wes Anderson's
"The Royal Tenenbaums"

Upon watching Wes Anderson's third film "The Royal Tenenbaums," one cannot help sensing that something different, cinematically speaking, has been experienced. However, what makes this particular film stand out from other contemporary American films? When I asked several (uninitiated) people about their thoughts on this film, invariably most of them found themselves hard put to give an eloquent answer. Some ventured to say that "it was different," or "weird," and only a few actually mentioned the words colors and music, which was fair enough for an untrained audience as far as I was concerned. "The Royal Tenenbaums" is that type of film that most people feel rather than understand. And that is because, what they're experiencing is a subtle but continuous bombardment of aesthetic elements, which run entirely throughout the film.

"The Royal Tenenbaums" is the story of a family of fallen geniuses, headed by the patriarch Royal, magnificently played by Gene Hackman. Royal, having found himself in financial troubles, tries to make his way back into the family, which he hasn't seen in years. The Tenenbaum kids are played by Luke Wilson as Ritchie, Gwenyth Paltrow as Margot, and Ben Stiller as Chas. Each of them a very defined character, eccentric and peculiar, without becoming caricatures, that wallow in their anxieties, depressions and failureconstant themes in Anderson's films. The mother, played by Angelica Huston, appears as the strong backbone that has held the crumbling family somewhat together. Among the secondary characters, the one that stands out the most is Eli Cash, superbly played by Owen Wilson, who also co-wrote the script with Wes Anderson. Eli Cash is the neighbor who grew up with the Tenenbaum kids, and have always long to be a part of their family.
This film is an excellent example of a tragicomedy, where all the impending doom about to fall upon the characters, does not materialize, or if it does, it is presented in a comedic, almost relieving, way, such as in the death of Royal and the BB gun salute by his two grandchildren wearing matching black Adidas jumpsuits, and the unique epitaph engraved on his tombstone, that only the priest seems to notice.
In none of his previous films does Wes Anderson cross the line between realism and formalism more often and more freely than in "The Royal Tenenbaums." The story could be any family's story, just as the characters possess very possible

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