HIT ME WITH YOUR BEST SHOT: The Royal Tenenbaums

On this week's Hit me with your best shot, Nathaniel chose a film by one of the most unique directors currently working today (Wes Anderson). The featured film is "The Royal Tenenbaums", which has one of the best ensemble casts ever. This movie came as a big surprise to me, as I was ready to dismiss it before even watching it. I am one of those people who don't "get" Wes Anderson's style and find his movies too "twee". Strangely enough, I loved this film. The screenplay is really strong and is grounded with a true sense of poignancy. While the film maintains the usual Wes Anderson quirkiness, there is a definite undercurrent of melancholia. It almost brought me to tears on several occasions. This film is about intra-family relationships, the failures of these relationships and the disappointments of life in general. I was particularly struck by the imperfections of all the characters in the film, which really gave the movie an authentic real-world feel. Even in instances where a family is comfortably affluent and well-educated, the film reminds us that life is still not perfect. My favourite shot focuses on the estranged patriarch of the Tenenbaums (Royal, played by Gene Hackman), as he attempts to reconcile with his family.

Click below for my favourite shot...



If you've read some of my previous entries for this series, you would know that I usually get caught up in the more emotional scenes. The same applied here. This shot just warms my heart. Prior to this end section of the film, Chas Tenenbaum (Ben Stiller) is unable to cope with the accidental death of his wife and becomes slightly paranoid. It affects his kids as well, as he becomes overprotective and prevents them from fully enjoying their childhood. Royal comes along and forms a bond with his grandchildren and eventually wins over his own son. I'm sure everyone can relate to situations where you are unable to connect with certain members of your family, even when you desperately want to. After unsuccessfully trying to get through the wall of Chas' rejection, Royal finally breaks through. As he lets loose with his 3 boys, Royal looks over to his son and you just know that he is content. In addition, I just had to choose a shot with those 2 kids. I thought they were so sweet.