The Royal Tenenbaums
Royal Tenenbaum (Gene Hackman) is dying of cancer and so he tries to get back in touch witht he family he abandoned 20 years ago, including his wife (Aneglica Houston) and his three once child prodigies, novelist (Gwenyth Paltrow) city whizz (Ben Stiller) and tennis ace (Luke Wilson). However they are not so keen on his reappearance and so begins a series of adventures and misadventures to try and win their love and respect.
Wes Anderson proved with Rushmore what an original talent he was and with this film it is confirmed without a doubt. Armed with a fabulous cast including great minor roles from Owen Wilson, Bill Murray and Danny Glover to name but a few he has crreated another starkly unique and very funny dark comedy. Hackman who is usually seen as teh gruff military type seems to relish in his role as the bumbling eccentric patriarch using every cunning device to win back wife and family. there are many great comic moments and ithe whole film is shot with great verve and panache, utlising a great voiceover from Alec Baldwin, a witty and intellegent script, snappy editing and a clever chapter structure. Anderson is great with visual details especially for replicating magazine covers, TV images, and various playful design features. He also manages to get another subdued performance out of Bill Murray and an non-grating one out of Paltrow. It doesn't have everything but then again few films do but all in all it's a real treat for lovers of American indie cinema and well anyone else with a sense of humour above that of a 'You've been Framed' level.
9/10
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