The cast of The Royal Tenenbaums
Noni Ford recalls her first impressions of the Wes Anderson classic The Royal Tenenbaums and how she now approaches the film differently as an adult.
Spoilers ahead!
Some films you watch and it takes you a while to really call them a favorite — it might even take a rewatch before you can freely admit that it’s something special. However, the moment I finished watching Wes Anderson’s fourth film The Royal Tenenbaums, the film catapulted to the top of my favorite films list. In retrospect, it seems like I was absolutely primed to adore this film: I was already heading into a deep obsession with the band The Velvet Underground and my interest in Andy Warhol’s 1960s Factory-era was a twin obsession. I loved intricate costume design, which this film, as well as many of Anderson’s films, offers in spades. But maybe more than that, I was a burgeoning writer when I first saw this film, and all the sharp dialogue along with the literary book inserts for different chapters of the story made me laser-focus in on this film.
At the time of my first watch, I was a contributor to a zine called The Antagonist at the now sadly defunct teen art collective space Rhinos. I was known to pitch listicles and it would be a while before I wrote pieces that were closer to articles, but I was just thrilled to be able to print my work in any format. I tried to save all the copies of the zine I could and recently during a project I unburied some editions and remembered that this was one of the very first movies I wrote about for the zine when I highlighted Margot and Richie, interestingly enough, on a list of great couples in creative works.
Luke Wilson and Gwyneth Paltrow as Richie and Margot
Rewatching The Royal Tenenbaums now as an adult, I find it really funny that these two characters were what I focused on mainly. The forbidden romance in that section of the narrative was a real draw for me and even in my memory was a huge centerpiece to everything. While I can certainly admit that it is a major part of the plot, I can now see it’s just one facet of the tapestry we weave through with Anderson and Owen Wilson (credited as a co-writer on this script) as we look further at the Tenenbaums. There are many dysfunctional people and relationships in the family, and although I still find this connection between these characters fascinating, they are no longer my favorite ones in this story. Since I was a kid during my first viewing experience, I think I glommed on to the developed characters that seemed most youthful, but now I’m more focused on the older adults in this family.
Royal Tenenbaum is a fantastic character who spearheads the transformation of this family throughout the story. He can be careless, often selfish and petulant, and definitely a con artist of sorts, but he has a lot of love for everyone in his family. The beautiful thing about this script is that instead of keeping him and everyone the exact same, they all go through changes within themselves and with each other. This film isn’t about static, quirky adults trying to figure out their way through slumps in their lives or careers; it’s about people who pool together and help each other work through their difficulties.
Gene Hackman as Royal Tenenbaum
The reason I chose this film for my Staff Selects was because it is quintessentially a movie about families, and, coming off of the New Year and the holiday season, many people often reflect on their own family. Whether your family is nothing like the Tenenbaums or even kookier, it’s nice to sit down and watch a film about people who may have gotten off the path their life was leading them or may be in a rut, but through understanding and talking are able to find a way forward. January is a time for intentions, resolutions, and fresh perspectives, or at least the time when people can take stock of a portion of those things. A new year can motivate, inspire, and even change a person. For me, a new year has always been a transition point when I decide what goals I need to accomplish or what experiences to chase before heading into the next year. On my list this year was being able to get the opportunity to program something again, so I’m happy to cross one goal off in month one of 2024. I hope this movie can similarly influence anyone who comes to watch it to find a way to change, cultivate, rediscover, or to even find a new life path going into this year.
Chosen by Noni for IU Cinema’s Staff Selects series, The Royal Tenenbaums will be screened on January 25.
Other Anderson films that have screened at IU Cinema include Fantastic Mr. Fox as part of Meryl Streep’s 2014 visit to campus, The Grand Budapest Hotel when it was first released that same year, and Rushmore during the inaugural Study Break Mega Marathon in 2022.