“YOU’RE TRUE BLUE”: “The Royal Tenanbaums” review
Sydney Budaj
She/Her
Columnist
9/27/23
Some movies just stay with us. Whether it’s a life-changing story or striking visuals, films have a way of altering our minds. If there is one movie that surely will etch itself into the walls of your brain forever, and never let you forget it, it’s “The Royal Tenenbaums.” Having only made two other movies, Wes Anderson released one of the most personal tales in his entire filmography.
It follows the three Tenenbaum children, all gifted in their own right, as their estranged father tries to make up for the time he’s lost while being absent. His intentions are questionable and the children come to find that out once they all move back into the family estate together. The children, Chas, Ritchie, and Margot Tenenbaum, are some of the film’s most unique characters, a sorted clan of deeply flawed misfits plagued with generational trauma that leads all of their decision-making. Each one of these characters has their own agenda but they all try their hardest to lead with love, it just never seems to get them anywhere.
The reimagined 70s New York set is dreamy and perfect to house some truly tragic moments. The movie includes one of film’s most highly regarded editing sequences, Ritchie’s bathroom scene. Beyond the very deep and relatable subject matter this movie is plain and simple a comedy. In typical Wes Anderson fashion, pan-faced jokes are coming at you from every angle with little time to react to the chaos unfolding. The dynamic between Raleigh Sinclair and Dudley Hiensbergen is some of the most simple and hilarious dialogue put to paper. Gene Hackman gives an astounding comedic and serious performance as Royal Tenenbaum. At one point in the film he says to his two grandsons, “I’m sorry for your loss. Your mother was a terribly attractive woman.”, priceless.
What sets The Royal Tenenbaums from any other movies is the iconic costuming. Each character has a particular sense of style that reveals a lot about the type of person they are. Always ready for action, Chas and his two boys wear bright red tracksuits. The color makes the kids easy to spot for Chas who is ultra concerned for their safety. Lamenting her status as resident cool girl but also juxtaposing her very destructive personality traits with a beautiful facade, Margot wears a barrette against her perfectly cut blonde bob, always with loafers and a mink coat.
From brilliant costuming and set design to a cast of characters you will never forget, what’s not to love about The Royal Tenenbaums? You can’t help but want to stay in the worlds Wes Anderson creates for hours. They have a bright and beautiful front that hides dark subject matter. That sort of juxtaposition is what elevates his storytelling compared to other writer/director auteurs. If you have a spare 110 minutes, make this your next watch. You will finish it feeling a wholesome sense of connection to the ones you love, but uneasy about the uncertainty that is life.