Wes Anderson's seminal comedy-drama, for all its deadpan, pokerfaced wit and familial hurdles, possesses a dark undercurrent that quietly haunts the ensemble cast of characters from start to finish. The Oscar-winning screenplay deals with the emotional web of an estranged family forced back together through a surprise announcement, each one taking their psychoses and difficult idiosyncrasies along for the ride. The crux of the unspoken bleakness comes to ahead around the midpoint with the attempted suicide of Luke Wilson's Richie Tenenbaum. Besotted with his adopted sister Margot from a young age, Richie's attempt is subtly foreshadowed by his very public tennis court meltdown upon learning of her engagement to another man. This time round, however, it is the discovery of Margot's secret, polygamous promiscuity that sends Richie over the edge. There is an extra, retroactive layer of contextual poignancy within this scene as two of the people responsible for its realisation - co-writer Owen Wilson and soundtrack accompanist Elliot Smith - attempted suicide following the film's release, the latter tragically losing his life. Yes, Richie survives the attempt, and there is some typically Andersonian black humour in the family's response to it (morose brother Chas, played by Ben Stiller, churlishly asks to read his suicide note and, when told he can't, asks if it's "dark"), but that doesn't make the scene itself any less horrid to behold. Soundtracked by Smith's brooding 'Needle in the Hay,' Richie looks forlornly into the mirror, drastically shaves his head and beard and whispers "I'm going to kill myself tomorrow." There's something inherently despairing in the fact that he then silently makes the snap decision to push it forward to that moment instead his pain is so great that to even live another day is unthinkable. The attempt itself is, surprisingly for a Wes Anderson film, intensely graphic Richie slashes his wrists in the bathroom and collapses to the floor, blood flowing over the tiles. It is a horrific sight, so highlighted by the fact that he is found and thus saved by a terrified teenage boy whom he barely knows.
26 year old novelist and film nerd from London. Currently working on his third novel and dreaming up more list-based film articles to flood WhatCulture with.
