The Royal Tenenbaums

With over 300,00 feature films ever made [really?…thats a lot of fucking films people….] it seems the real craftsmen rise to the top over time, and this review is for a film that in my humble opinion is the personification of craft. In any medium. In any time.

The Royal Tenenbaums is a 2001 film by Wes Anderson, a director that has possibly the clearest vision of how he intends to tell a story I have ever witnessed. That vision, which is so wonderfully quirky, understated and intimate, gets played out in the most grandiose way via Andersons impeccable attention to detail. Personally, I have never witnessed a more beautiful cinematic aesthetic than Wes Anderson. It’s like every scene has it’s own life. [Can you tell he’s my favourite Director?]

Now, I fully understand that these write ups are based around the music. Every soundtrack out there should *ahem…should* enhance the film that is being created, but some soundtracks are so well crafted that they become intrinsically enmeshed with the film they are supporting.

And let’s put all our cards on the table here huh. I totally know that my tastes are different to the next persons, but if there was some sort of universal gauge to tell us the synchronicity level a soundtrack has with its aligning film, well…I’d easy chuck a lobster on the fact that every Wes Anderson film would be in the top 10% of all films.

*I am so not afraid to fanboy about Mr. Anderson here*

This brings me to the soundtrack. You can tell Anderson has his finger in every aspect of his films, and the soundtrack’s are no exception. He got his hands on a composer he’d used a couple years before for a film called ‘Rushmore’ by the name of Mark Mothersbaugh. For all of those early 80’s devotees [who don’t already know], Mark was the lead singer of Devo. But since his time of wearing red hats, he has been non stop in his music endeavours creating music for film, TV, Documentaries and Video Games.

Creating a soundtrack for a Wes Anderson film would be tricky enough I think. I get the feeling you would simply have to be true to your own sensibilities and trust that your instincts are on the money when they get partnered with Wes’ visual extravaganza. In the case of ‘The Royal Tenenbaums’, this has never been more the case.

Wes has intermingled Marks whimsical compositions which include xylophones, harps and harpsichords with tracks that are just as fanciful and unconventional from some wonderful musicians amounting to a soundtrack that has an Anderson flavour you can smell.

Unfortunately, Apple Music doesn’t have the album on their files [WTAF?], so the playlist from some random dude who’s compiled a few tracks will have to do, but its a pity because some of the most engaging aspects are from Mothersbaugh which aren’t on the playlist. But if you’re here reading this, well, its not a massive jump to find some link somewhere to it…or I could do it for you.

The Royal Tenenbaums Original Soundtrack

Its just the All Music website which only gives you snippets, but you get the gist.

There are some beautiful tracks though that I knew from this album like “Ruby Tuesday” from the Stones, “Look at Me” from John Lennon or “Me And Julio Down By The Schoolyard” from Paul Simon, all of which are my kind of pace. But there were some real surprises here that I have really come to love. Now these may be common knowledge to others, but for me, they were new [and awesome] because I was introduced to them via the film which helped…romanticise them just a smidge.

First is Nico. Her track ‘These Days’ is a really soft earthy track about self reflection and time moving on. Nico was a temporary player in ‘The Velvet Underground’ for a time. But this track was recorded in 1967 and somehow suited the film perfectly. After watching the film, its really hard to imagine it without this track. There is a concurrent theme that runs throughout the film between two characters, but as you’ll see below, the use of this song helps shape the tempo of the relationship so well that the idea of understating a scene with normality becomes an entirely new world when seen through Anderson’s lense.

The other revelation for me off this album was my introduction to Nick Drake. I’d not really been exposed to much of his music, but after this film I made a conscious effort to track down some of his music and I haven’t looked back. I mean, its been over a decade since I saw it so I feel a little like a Nick Drake expert after the amount that I’ve listened to his music, but the track ‘Fly’ was both my official introduction to this folk genius and my musical highpoint of the film and soundtrack.

As you might be able to tell, I have a really big soft spot for Wes Anderson films. Some of the best storytelling ever.

You know that game where you nominate 6 people alive or dead to have a dinner party with? Wes Anderson is at my table. Hands down. This isn’t the last Wes Anderson film to make it into my list, or my last Bill Murray entry for that matter, but possibly the best as far as soundtracks go. Watch this movie again if you haven’t in a while. Not only will you remember how good it is, it has a history of making you feel super melancholy in that sweet adorable ‘Let’s watch another Wes Anderson film’ kind of way.

If you haven’t seen this one, make the best cubby house you can, grab a bowl of popcorn & chuck the movie on and enjoy. Always makes me remember to relish the parts of others that are not so ‘normal’.

Thanks Royal, I owe you one.

M /