MikePadgett.com / Reviews / Film / The Royal Tenenbaums

The Royal Tenenbaums

— No small feat: Anderson the director who breathed new life into Gene Hackman.”

A royal mess!
  • Director: Wes Anderson
  • United States, 2001
  • 4 stars out of 5

Wes Anderson is clearly simpatico with actors, because he coaxes out the engaging, lovable side that old cranks like Gene Hackman and Bill Murray have hidden away in the dusty recesses of their repertoires. And all that without a CGI penguin in sight.

The Royal Tenenbaums features a beautifully nuanced cast of characters who are fully paid up members of a family that’s fallen apart. Having carefully introduced each of them, Anderson and co-writer Owen Wilson let them tell their stories and bring about collective and individual redemption.

The ending is upbeat and anything but predictable whilst the glow of reunion is warm but subtle. A fine film from a consistently successful director.

Originally published: February 5th, 2007 in Film

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Hello you, I'm Mike Padgett. I'm not a Princeton curator, Knoxville mayoral candidate, Kentuckian pastor or Arizona journalist, I just share the same name. In fact, I am a consultant working in user experience and information design.

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