Just RE-watched...

...“The Royal Tenenbaums” directed by Wes Anderson.

After encountering the delightful “Fantastic Mr. Fox” a few weeks ago, I was happy to have a chance to re-watch one of Wes Anderson’s early films, “The Royal Tenenbaums.”

As I mentioned in the post about “Fantastic Mr. Fox,” Wes Anderson films are quirky, sweet, touching and honest and this one is no exception. “The Royal Tenenbaums” is also smart and unflinching. The characters, each so unique, strange and fragile in their chosen “uniform” of ill-fitting and out-of-date clothing, are presented in such a deadpan way. We approach each one head-on, honestly, and accept each flaw and absurdity. We also approach many characters and scenes head-on as well. Anderson has a penchant for filming scenes not over-the-shoulder but face to face. It is a disarming tactic which feels raw and intimate.
The cast is phenomenal. No one plays “absurd,” no one plays “funny,” which grounds the film. If anyone had played anything other than the total reality of the situation, it would have been demeaning not only to the audience but also to these characters and their souls. Each actor completely honors who he or she is. Although everyone is marvelous, I particularly want to point out Anjelica Huston who is awesomely and beautifully subtle and understated as the matriarch of the Tenenbaum family.

The story itself feels very literary, aside from the fact that many characters are authors, academics or playwrights. Indeed, there is a book motif that runs through the film: we see pages of a book open on to chapters, the first few sentences of which describe the action we are about to see. It is a device that feels almost like we are reading a children’s story. There is a “fable”-quality to this film. There is even a piece of back-story—Margot and Richie running away and hiding in a museum—based on an actual children’s book, FROM THE MIXED-UP FILES OF MRS. BASIL E. FRANKWEILER. (That is why it felt like a perfect fit for him to adapt Roald Dahl's FANTASTIC MR. FOX for the screen.)

The entire package of this film is charmingly askew and tenderly forgiving.
Recommend? YES!