The Royal Tenenbaums – an absolute catch-up joy

Playing catch-up again, I started the weekend – and it’s going to be a fairly busy (for me) few days of film watching – with sticking a disc on to watch Wes Anderson’s 2001 The Royal Tenenbaums for the first time.

Tony and my first encounter with Anderson’s utterly individual style was via a disc of Grand Budapest Hotel, on the particularly enthusiastic recommendation of a friend/colleague who is also a part-time film critic (and is taking me to a critics’ screening next week).

We were seriously impressed – so much so that we saw the next three Anderson releases in the cinema.

And as that implies, we continued to like – and increasingly ‘get’ – what we were seeing; not least, in terms of Anderson’s cinematic vernacular.

Early this evening, half an hour after finishing work, after feeding Otti cat and doing a bit of house work, I popped a Blu-ray of Tenenbaums into the slot and sat back with a tumbler of Hotel Chocolat chocolate salted caramel vodka.

It’s brilliant – I mean the film (though the booze is excellent too).

A family with Royal Anderson at the head is full of success and childhood genius, yet falls from that with bickering, betrayal, deceit and also the sheer fear of others knowing the truth.

The style is totally Anderson: colour palettes, mannered dialogue, short scenes as ‘chapters’, dysfunctional relationships, narration, and an incredible ensemble cast.

Gene Hackman, as the titular Royal Anderson, is arguably not an obvious Anderson-type actor, but gives a superb performance in one of the last films before his retirement. Such a great contrast to the likes of Popeye Doyle. Without doubt one of the finest of his career.

Angelica Huston as his wife is also simply wonderful, bringing a contrasting quietness to this central relationship.

I was astonished to learn that Owen Wilson co-wrote the script with Anderson as well as playing a significant role. Until relatively recently, I’d only seen trailers of Wilson in films that looked (to me) like they were a waste of time – until Tony and I saw him in the first season of Loki. And were a tad re-educated. Here – never mind finding his CV credentials being buffed by his writing credit, it’s also a very good performance, and he looks … well … buff’.

Possibly the best I’ve ever seen Gwyneth Paltrow; Bill Murray is lovely, subtle and warm in his role, and Danny Glover adds real dignity, grace and warmth too.

I realise I haven’t mentioned Ben Stiller, who in general, I feel an active dislike for on the basic of what I see as, being in infantile bollocks. I was moving to that view here. Until late on, when he showed the ability to move from the least nuanced character to one experiencing a real revelation.

Luke Wilson too, is less well known than his brother. But really does give a great performance in this as the desperately unhappy tennis genius.

Funny and moving. Absolutely loved it. What a great start to the weekend!

 

A cracking mini hit of Wes Anderson

Wes Anderson’s latest film is a short – just 39 minutes – version of Roald Dahl’s short story, and it is a joy.

The titular character is the pseudonym of a wealthy bachelor gambler, who comes across a book of a doctor's report of a man who claimed he could see and interact without using his eyes.

By practising the meditations involved, Henry Strange manages to see through the backs of playing cards. He uses this ability to make millions, establishing a network of successful hospitals and orphanages.

All the usual identifiers of Anderson’s work are present, from the highly stylised look of the piece to the mannered performances.

And there is a typically wonderful ensemble cast – not least Ralph Fiennes, Benedict Cumberbatch, Ben Kingsley, Dev Patel and Richard Ayoade.

 

It is now streaming on Netflix.

Isle of Dogs provides a cracking return to the cinema

Sixteen years I stayed away from the cinema – now, a few weeks feels extreme. 

There are so many new releases coming up in the coming weeks that the want-to-see list is taking on a level that will extend movie going beyond the twice a month that characterised the first part of the year.

But a combination of a short trip away, a family death and then major surgery has left me facing catch up, so to start that process, The Other Half and I opted to see Wes Anderson’s Isle of Dogs before anything else.

Set in a dystopian near-future Japan, it tells the story of a corrupt mayor who whips up fear and hatred of dogs to help retain power. The canine-hating official then manages to have all dogs banished to the nearby Trash Island – beginning with Spots, the dog who guards his 12-year-old ward, Atari.

But Atari refuses to accept this lying down, and flies out to the island to find his beloved dog. Helped in his quest by a group of five dogs, led by Chief, a stray who is determined never to yield to a human ‘master’.

An attempt to ‘rescue’ the child goes awry – and with an election nearing, Mayor Kobayashi sees an opportunity to kill off all the dogs for once and for all.

It’s as quirky and offbeat as you would expect of Anderson. The stop-mo animation style works wonderfully: visually, it’s a superb look, with countless moments that you see again.

The plot is coherent, but it’s also a deluge of ideas: there are themes and nods here about the environment, about animal experimentation, about politicians whipping up hatred – and such hatred leading to death camps. It’s ‘about’ our relationship with the non-human animals in our lives, but also therefore about what it means to be human.

There’s another excellent score from this year’s Oscar winner, Alexandre Desplat, and a voice cast of stars that says everything about Anderson’s reputation and concomitant pulling power these days.

Okay, it would have been nice not to have had to have a non-Japanese character as provide the human rallying call late on, but in general, the film has a feeling of homage to Japanese culture. Indeed, this is very much supported by the way that culture is featured throughout, from the creation of sushi to the drumming and the Kabuki theatre, all of which create a sense of authenticity and respect.

The script is dry as a bone – in places very funny.

It’s difficult to think of anything that you could compare it to, so I won’t bother. So suffice it to say that it’s just a total delight.