The Royal Tenenbaums

The Royal Tenenbaums is a movie full unique characters with a specifically different looks that can be recognized right away.

I think Richie Tenenbaum is the most interesting character in the movie. During the scene where he decided he wanted to kill himself, the song Needle in the Hay by Elliott Smith was playing.

Richie is the real needle in the haystack of the family. He was the only one to have a relationship with Royal when they were kids, he loves is adopted sister Margo, and he's the only one in the family to have a failed career. In the song it says, "And I don't want to talk I'm taking the cure So I can be quiet whenever I want So leave me alone You ought to be proud that I'm getting good marks" This is showing how Richie looks at the scars that he makes. When he is in the bathroom and looking into the mirror, Richie says "I'm going to kill myself tomorrow." But quickly decides that he doesn't want to live anymore. He thinks his scars are good and helping him rid of his pain. Even though it is a very serious scene in a movie that is supposed to be a comedy, it is a very important scene for the whole movie. Do you think this scene was too serious?

The Royal Tenenbaums

I never felt like The Royal Tenenbaums was an outright comedy. Although it is technically called one, it has several more serious moments throughout. Something I noticed was that in both this film and The Graduate, these serious moments serve as turning points in the story. In The Graduate, when Elaine discovers that Benjamin has been having an affair with her mother, it launches the next "part" of the story. Benjamin tries to win Elaine back, and runs off with her during a wedding. The serious event has great significance, and sets everything in motion for the second half of the film.

The Royal Tenenbaums has the same thing. Richie's suicide is a shocking and very significant event that breaks the movie into two separate halves. When he is in the hospital, it is the first time the family is united again and all on the same side together. Several characters undergo changes too. One of the most notable differences comes from Royal. At first, he had been lying to his whole family about his health condition. Chas, Ethel, and Margot were all still angry with him. But later, his actions are much more sincere, and the secret is out. In the final scenes, we can see Chas is spending time with his father, and Royal does his best to right some wrongs. He signs the divorce papers for Ethel, which was something he knew she wanted. He may not have wanted the divorce to happen, but he was much more selfless now and saw that she would be happy.

What purpose do you think serious scenes in comedies can serve?

The Royal Tenenbaums

Although categorized as a comedic film, The Royal Tenenbaums, directed by Wes Anderson, takes a drastic shift in tone when one of the main characters, Richie attempts suicide. Throughout the movie up until this point, despite his ongoing love for his stepsister, Richie seems to be a stable character with good morals for he still appreciates his father, Royal although he was absent from most of his children's’ lives. Richie's downward spiral is hinted at because of his love for Margot and his failed tennis career. However, this scene is the first time where the audience is exposed to what lies underneath Richie’s sweatband, sunglasses, and thick head of hair. He is a depressed man who has simply lost his way to a happy life. Because this scene is abruptly different from the rest of the film, it is effective not only because of its tone and approach to capture Richie’s emotional state and underlying reality of what the audience thinks is all about Royal, but because it marks a critical shift in plot. Additionally, Anderson comments on Richie's mood with the usage of colors since the entire movie takes on a very "warm" feel, consisting of yellows, reds, and brown tones and now shifts to a very cold atmosphere, which in this particular scene takes place in the bathroom which is blue. In this scene, Richie is centered in the screen, implying that he is the focal point while the song "Needle In The Hay" plays simultaneously in the background. Including this song during this point is really powerful because it symbolizes Richie as the needle in the hay, meaning he is having trouble finding himself at this point of his life. Could you imagine this scene with another character in Richie's place? If so, who and what difference would it make on the plot as a whole?

The Royal Tenenbaums

Scott Yarmoff
Mrs. Robbins
Period 3 Film Analysis
10/30/14

The Royal Tenenbaums

A classmate said at one point that Richie looked "like Jesus." It seemed like a cool, but irrelevant comment at first, but after the film concluded, we see connections as to how he could be a symbol for Jesus. I would say the biggest way we see this is right after the "New Richie" scene where Richie attempts to commit suicide. Even though he cut his hair and no longer visually represents Jesus, this act brought he crumbling family together. Everyone came down to see him and came together at his bedside (besides Royal, but he at least put the effort in). He was always the one Tenenbaum child to stick out to Royal so there was always something unique about him, but his unifying of the family proved to be his most important action. In the picture below, we see Richie cutting his hair in a mostly low-key light shot. However, even with this immensely depressing subject and scene shown with the dimmer lights, there is still bright light coming in, foreshadowing the good that could (and would) come out of even a dark deed. I think Richie saved the family; do you think so? Also, if this was not the major turning point for the family, what was?

The Royal Tenenbaums

The Royal Tenenbaums: Richie's Suicide Attempt

      The Royal Tenenbaums is a hilarious film due to the odd, yet relatable characters and their dialogue. The storyline follows members of a dysfunctional family that make even my crazy family look sane. One Tenenbaum kid, Richie, falls in love with his adopted sister Margot, which has a comedic affect. Richie's desperation grows and grows throughout the film, but one scene becomes very morbid. It is controversial as to why Anderson included a suicide scene in a comedy, but I think it makes a very powerful statement. 

     The song "Needle in the Hay" by Elliot Smith sets a melancholic tone during this scene. The lyrics such as "I'm taking the cure so I can be quiet" suggests that the song itself is about suicide, which matches Richie's actions. This is a pivotal moment for Richie's character because he not only goes through a physical change, but also an attitude change. Even though the film starts when the children are young, they are still wearing the same outfits 22 years later. The first time we see Richie not in his usual costume is during this scene. He takes off his sunglasses and headband, and shaves his face and hair. This reveals his character change and shows how he has given up being himself.

    Another powerful technique used during this scene was the use of a montage. As blood pours out of Richie's wrists, we see flashes of all the things he loves. We see Mordecai flying away, his mother holding a birthday cake, and most frequently, Margot. The shots of Margot become longer as the montage progresses which reveals how she became more and more important to Richie. This montage makes the scene very realistic because it has been said that as one dies, their life flashes before their eyes. 

   Overall, I thought Richie's suicide scene was very powerful and effective. Since it was in a comedic film, it made it stand out even more. Do you think that this scene took away from the comedic aspect of the film, or do you think it belongs in the film?

The Royal Tenenbaums

Usually in films, everything and everyone is placed in a certain way. These placements can either be solely for filming so that everyone is seen in the shot, but it may also be to get a point across to the audience. In The Royal Tenenbaums, the use of proxemics plays a very big role in how Wes Anderson tells the story of the Tenenbaum family. There always seems to be a reason why the characters are placed in the locations that they are. It can show what a character thinks about the situation and how much they want to be involved. In the scene where the doctor tells the Tenenbaum family what Royal's fate is, they are all placed very specifically in the hallway.

Chas and Richie are the closest to the doctor so that they know exactly what is to become of Royal, but for two different reasons: Richie really cares about what will happen to his father, and wants to do anything to take care of him, while Chas has always acted very passive aggressively towards Royal, and wants to know what will happen so he can figure out what to do with him, or to get him out of the house. Etheline is placed behind the brothers because although she isn't with Royal anymore, she was still with him once before, and she cares about what happens to him. I think Henry is further behind Etheline because although he doesn't really care what happens to Royal, he cares about Etheline and wants to take care of her and make sure she is okay to take any news about Royal's health. Margot is in the strangest placement of all the characters; she is slumped and leaning in the corner like she is being forced to be there. Since Royal never made an effort to love Margot, I think she feels like she has to be there to hear the news because she is his family, but she just doesn't care about anything the doctor has to say.
Do you think the character placement and proxemics is for a definite purpose, or it just happened that way?

The Royal Tenenbaums

In the film The Royal Tenenbaums, there is a common theme and/or aspect that is reoccurring throughout the film. This theme/aspect is that everything is the opposite of what is normally depicted.

Let's take the opening scene for example. When you think about children a typical image is playing with toys and having a sense of innocence. In this scene, that is clearly not the case. We see Chaz, running a business of some sort, buying real estate something that you expect of a full-grown adult. Next we see Margot writing Pulitzer Prize plays in 9th grade and smoking cigarettes at age 12. Finally we see Richie become a tennis star at an age where he should just be learning how to play the sport. The audience sees characters that are completely opposite of what is expected of them. 

Another scene where we see this theme/aspect of opposites is when Royal is out with Chaz's kids. This is opposite of what we expect because at a young age people are more reckless and willing to do dangerous things. In this case Royal is the one who wants to do crazy things while the kids have no interest in the beginning. Wes Anderson has directed this movie in a way that makes everything the opposite of what the general public thinks. I believe he does this because it makes the not only the movie seem odd (which it is), but the family (also true). 

Wes Anderson has a lot of tricks up his sleeve to direct great films. In this one, he makes everything seem opposite of what it should be. Does this theme/aspect of the film benefit the film or make it more confusing and odd for the audience? 

The Royal Tenenbaums

Comedies are known for their, well... comedy, yet in The Royal Tenenbaums, the film gets surprisingly serious when Richie decides to end his own life. By making the choice to add a dark, dramatic scene in the middle of the movie, Wes Anderson differed his idea of a comedy from others.

In the scene, Richie comes into the bathroom and begins cutting his hair. He continues cutting until both his beard and hair are gone. He then says to the camera, "I'm going to kill myself tomorrow," and slits his wrists multiple times, covering the room with blood. Luckily, Dudley wanders into the bathroom and discovers this and Richie is rushed to the hospital. The entire scene is shot with a blue-ish tint, to symbolize Richie's emotion as the scene was happening.

Instead of riddling the film with expletives and sexual innuendos, the film added a level of reality, reminding us that the characters are only human, thus making us uncomfortable and upset by Richie trying to kill himself. It is a hard scene to watch, and it's meant to be.

The addition of this scene made me, as an audience member, respect the film (more than I would for other comedies) and think of the film as more dramatically exciting/interesting.

Why did Richie say, "I'm going to kill myself tomorrow," then try to kill himself right then?

The Royal Tenenbaums

While watching The Royal Tenenbaums, one of the things that stood out to me the most was the use of costuming. In the following paragraphs, I will discuss specifically each of the Tenenbaum children separately and what stood out to me in their costumes.

Chas' family is wearing the same thing throughout the whole movie, except during the wedding scene and the funeral scene at the end. As seen in the picture above, all of them look exactly the same - same hairstyles, same red adidas tracking suits, etc. Just the fact that they look identical resembles the overly controlling atmosphere that Chas puts on the household. He wants everyone to follow a strict order, and expects his kids to be exactly like him. Also, the fact that they are wearing red suits that are made for conveniently running shows the sense of urgency and constant being in a hurry that exists in Chas' household.

Margot Tenenbaum is almost always seen with her blonde short hairdo, her really heavy black eyeliner, her fur coat, her hair pins, and a cigarette. I'm not sure if any of these aspects symbolize anything, but they certainly do create a certain image that Wes Anderson was trying to portray. I feel that the specific choice of costuming for Margot most accurately conveyed her nonchalant, "emo," apathetic attitude toward everything.

In my opinion, Richie Tenenbaum's costume was probably the most important one in this film. As was suggested during our class discussions, Richie's costume demonstrates a Jesus-like image. His hairstyle and his beard look exactly like how Jesus is portrayed in every painting and in modern culture. However, other aspects of his costume suggest other things. For example, the tennis headband that he always wears suggests that even though his tennis career went downhill, he still wants to cling on to something from his successful past simply by wearing something that connects to it. Maybe by seeing himself wear the headband, he was reminded of his past, and, therefore, not as insecure about his present. The fact that he always wears shades also symbolizes his isolation from all the other characters in the movie, and also gives him a mysterious image. Another reason why I believe that Wes Anderson chose to pay especially close attention to Richie's costume was that Richie's complete removal of his signature items: his beard, his hair, his headband, and his shades towards the end of the movie symbolized the transitioning period in his life. Anderson was attempting to portray in the change of costume itself that Richie was about to do something huge, and perhaps maybe even signifying the climax of the movie. Also, I feel that because Richie survived after a horrible suicide attempt confirms the "Jesus theory" that we had as a class - that just as Jesus was resurrected after death, so was Richie kept completely safe and alive after an extremely near-death experience.

The Royal Tenenbaums

One thing that I picked up on while watching The Royal Tenenbaums was Wes Anderson's use of subtable changes within the characters. For example in the beginning of the movie Royal Tenenbaum was shown wearing a pair of dark sunglasses. As a viewer one might ask why is Royal wearing the sunglasses? I believe that he is wearing these in the very beginning is to show how disconnected from he is from his children. Not only is he wearing sunglasses which hide his eyes, he's sitting on the complete opposite end of the table where he kids are no where close to. Royal wasn't on good terms with his children for most of his life until he decided he needed to change it.

Royal started to come reach out to his family after six years of no speaking to them. He was getting kicked out of his hotel because he was broke and had no where else to go so he finds his ex-wife and tells her that he is dying of a deadly cancer. Later on in the movie the you find out that he lied about ever having cancer and it was all just a scam to have a place to live. Although, Royal did such an awful thing to his family, he did it with good intentions. At first he just needed money and a place to go he soon came to realize that he misses his family. Although it wasn't said through the dialogue it was implied through his change in character. Later on in the movie Royal stops wearing sunglasses around his family and changes to wearing clear glasses. Wearing this clear glasses implies that Royal is opening up to his family and that he's changing who he used to be. The clear glasses were a subtle change in his character, but a significant one. Do you think that in the beginning Royal was hiding from his kids by wearing sunglasses? Do you believe that he has changed? and for the better?

Royal Tenenbaums

Knowing the topic of depression pretty well, I thought it would interesting to look into Richie's case. People who suffer from depression often say and feel things that they don't actually mean, because they get caught up in the moment and can't think about how things are going to get better once they realize that they cannot think and live like that anymore. Unfortunately, sometimes these thoughts turn into actions, and you can't take them back once they happen. I believe that Richie did not want to kill himself, but rather escape from the reality that seems to be his life that is falling apart.
I realized this because in the scene that begins with Richie saying "I'm going to kill myself tomorrow," he used a razor blade to shave his face. He used this same razor to cut himself. It dawned on me that maybe he used the blade to shave first to dull the blade a little bit first, so that the cuts wouldn't go deep enough to kill him. This is just a theory, but I think it makes a lot of sense. A common cause of depression is feeling like people do not care about you anymore. Maybe Richie felt this way and his attempt of suicide was a cry for help. This is not uncommon for people with severe depression. As sick as this sounds, sometimes people hurt themselves for attention, for either reason of getting help or making people feel bad for them. Richie may have been feeling a little bit of both, and in his depressed state of mind, thought that the only way to make people want to be more present in his life was to force them to. Sometimes it takes a near-death experience to allow yourself to re-evaluate your life and change yourself accordingly. It is sad that people who struggle with depression can't look on the bright side even if they tried, and aren't able to realize that they have so much to live for, and since suicide is more common in younger people, that they have such a long life ahead of them and they should enjoy every minute of it instead of trying to cut it off short.
I thought that the way this scene was shot was interesting as well, because a part of it is shot from behind him, staring into the mirror as he shaves his face. As he does this, I think he was reflecting on his life (the cutaways to the Mordecai the bird, Margot, and flashbacks to his childhood) and the decision he was about to make. Shot from a closeup, we couldn't see that he was actually staring into the mirror because he is just looking at the camera, so I like the way this was done.

Would Richie still feel depressed if people showed that they cared about him?

The Royal Tenenbaums

Costuming throughout the film of The Royal Tenenbaum is used greatly to express color symbolism and age representation.

The color red or any shade of it is seen at least once in almost every character in the film. This is most significantly shown once the children are grown up. Instances where characters wear red in any form are in Pagoda's pants (the house assistant), Royal's shirt under his suit, Chas and his two son's red athletic suit and many other instances. At first I thought red could symbolize alarm or safety in correlation to Chas and his obsession with being protected. However, then I realized many other characters wore it for different references. I believe red as whole in this film goes to symbolize love and its quest for it. With love comes comfort, acceptance, appreciation, forgiveness and safety; these are all things all the characters were looking for in one way or another.

Another way costuming was significant in The Royal Tenenbaum was through its drastic age disconnect between the apparel and real age of character. For example, in the starting montage of the film it shows Chas, Richie and Eli all in very mature outfits while they are still just little kids. Chas wore a suit and tie as he was ran a business, Richie had professional tennis apparel and Eli has formal school attire. As the film shifts to when they are older, the almost opposite happens. Eli is mostly in his cowboy costume like a little boy, Richie is still wearing his tennis head band as though he get over the past and Chas in silly athletic wear because of his obsession with safety.

In essence, its almost as though all the kids grew up too fast they never got to really live their childhood so it is expressed through their attire. It also goes to show how they were never able to solidly establish the love between their family and partners therefore symbolizing red.

What do you think red (or any shade of it) symbolizes? 

The Royal Tenenbaums

Throughout the film, The Royal Tenenbaums, each of the characters change in their own way; however, in my opinion, the character that changes the most is Royal Tenenbaum, the biological father of the Tenenbaum children. In the beginning of the film, he is irresponsible and arrogant to put in lightly. We meet him when he is being evicted out of his hotel because he is not able to afford to stay there anymore. Because of this, he lies in order to live with his family again and says he is dying of stomach cancer.

There is no doubt in my mind that at this point in the film, he does not deserve to have his family's love and respect back. He is a liar and his motives to stay with them are still terrible and sneaky. However, as the film continues, he develops bonds with Chas's boys, his grandsons, and attempts to mend broken relationships with his own kids, Richie, Chas, and Margo.

When we see Royal, his kids, and his grandkids at the cemetery, Royal stands by Chas's wife's grave with Chas himself and the two kids. He tells his grandkids, "I'm sorry for your loss. Your mother was a terribly attractive women." Although taken mostly as a comedic line, we see in his own twisted and weird way, Royal  trying to show empathy.

I believe Wes Anderson uses his relationship with Chas's kids the most to show a change in his charracter as the movie progresses. Although his methods are very unorthadox, Royal attempts to build a connection with both the boys to make up for the terrible father he was for his own kids.


Do you agree that Royal was the character that changed the most in the film? Or do you think it was a different character? Also, how do you think Wes Anderson showed their change?

The Royal Tenenbaums

The main theme of The Royal Tenenbaums is family dysfunctionality... So did this dynamic ever change or any of the characters develop at all?

Let's start with Royal. His original faults include being a father that outwardly favors one of his children, separates but won't divorce his wife after 17 years, lies about having cancer, and just generally not being a good father in any sense of the phrase. By the end of the film, there was no reversing all these things, but Royal managed to leave his family some happy memories to remember him with. He divorced Etheline, he immediately rushed to the hospital to see Richie, saved his grandkids from being crushed by Eli's car, and even replaced the dog that did. His gravestone read that he died saving a family from a sinking battleship, and in a way he did: the Tenenbaums were drowning in despair, and Royal brought them back to the surface, letting them breathe freely. 

Now for the kids.

One of the comedic things about this movie were the juxtapositions of having young children having careers, then growing up to act like children, wardrobe included in the case of Chas. Before Royal reentered their lives, the Tenenbaum children has reversed into being the kids they never got to be. Right before and after Royal's death though, the kids changed because they all became the adult versions of what they originally were. That means that instead of an international tennis star, Richie taught the sport instead. Chas learned to be a good father, and not shelter his own children from something he can't stop. Margot finally wrote a new play, but this time around it was about her own family, making her address her own problems. They grew up normally in the end, it just took a lot more time and soul-searching before they got there. 

And of course, Eli was an honorary Tenenbaum... But did he ever manage to change like the others? Yes he checked himself into rehab, but is that enough for Eli to emerge as his own person for good?

The Royal Tenenbaums

In The Royal Tenenbaums, one very interesting technique that is consistent throughout the entire film is character placement.

One specific scene where I noticed Anderson's use of this technique is in the scene where Royal is laying in the hospital bed, and the doctor tells the family what is "wrong" with him.

The first thing I notice about how this is shot is that it is in the subjective view, through the doctor's eyes. This allows for the viewer to look out at the whole Tenenbaum family, and to see their reactions to the news.

In this shot, rather than the whole family gathering around the doctor eager to hear the news, the Tenenbaums are strategically spread out throughout the lengthy corridor.

Almost too close, we have Chas and Richie shoulder to shoulder, listening to the doctor speak. Even though the two are at the same distance from the doctor, both of them have a different purpose for why they are so eager to hear the news.

Richie is the only one at this point who has really had sympathy for Royal, so we know that he is invested and hope full for what the doctor might say.

Chaz on the other-hand doesn't want Royal in the house. Whether he kicks him out on the street or not all depends on his condition of health, so it is important for him to know what the doctor says.

Margot is positioned so that she is the farthest away from the doctor that she can be, while still being in the shot. This represents how she doesn't really care about Royal. She doesn't hate him, rather she has no drive to make an effort with him. What the doctor says couldn't affect her less.

All of the other characters are at a more respectable distance, symbolizing how they care, but not too much. These positions in this shot parallel with their emotions towards Royal and his health.

Does Wes Anderson create the character placement to symbolize something, or was there no reason behind it?

The Royal Tenenbaums

The Royal Tenenbaums a movie directed by Wes Anderson was ultimately a movie of a many characters who were lacking closure in their lives and their search for this closure. The whole premise of the movie is a bunch of flawed characters going back to their childhood home to reconcile with their "dying" father. While this process is going on they learn more than they ever did about themselves and eventually leading them to their wanted closure. Anderson does a successful job in showing the final closure of all them individual towards the end of the film. 

The first character I'd like to talk about closure with is the father. Royal Tenebaum at the beginning was first only trying to break up the marriage between his former wife and her new fiancé. As he got closer to the family, he actually started seeing how great of kids he had and the importance in relationships instead of the greedy lifestyle he was living before. Even though he gets thrown out at the peak of the climax, his change comes after that when he gives up pursuing his ex-wife and instead focuses on the his children. The highlight of this change is when he saves Stiller's children from an accident from Eli (Wilson) at the wedding. 

Another character who clearly receives closure in The Royal Tenebaum's is Chas (Stiller). Chas who since losing his wife in a plane crash has been overall protective of his children and removing all risk from their life had a change at the wedding as well. Up to that point he blocked out any danger going towards his children but in the scene where Royal saves his children, he realizes that he can't control everything in their lives. Also, their dog who survived the plane crash is murdered by Eli who on drugs ran it over, shows symbolism for closure. Unlike Chas wife the dog survived, so this became his so called "wife" because the dog survived yet she didn't. The highlight of closure in for Chas is when at his father funeral he has moved on from wearing the red jumpsuits to the black jumpsuits. The change in jumpsuits meant that he is now accepted that he is the grieving process of his wife and has to make a change for his children's sake. 

Even though there were changes in all the characters of the film, these two were the ones that stood out to me the most when watching the film. I think that Anderson did a good job off using the wedding to wrap up the internal conflicts between a majority of the characters. 

The Red Jumpsuits

Ending Scene Black Jumpsuits

The Royal Tenenbaums

The Royal Tenenbaums is a film that explores the theme of change of family dynamics in one that is very dysfunctional. Margot Tenenbaum, played by Gwyneth Paltrow, is one character in particular that exemplifies change throughout the the progression of the film. Margot starts off as a childhood prodigy for her talent in writing screenplays. When she becomes an adult, she marries a man much older than her, and is clearly unhappy. Although her last name may have changed, and she had stopped writing plays, many things remain the same. For example, she still has the same haircut, wears the same makeup, and dresses in the same striped dresses with a fur coat. But more importantly, she still acts the same as when she did when she was a child. She is still very aloof and independent, and doesn't seem to care about a lot of people, especially her family.

But as the film continues, Margot does in fact change. I think the most pivotal moment for her in the film was when she decided to go into Richie's tent. In that scene, when she is talking to him and kisses him, she seems so vulnerable, which is such a contrast from her previous extremely cold exterior. She shows compassion and emotion here, when she asks Richie about his attempted suicide. It is an interesting scene to watch, to see the contrast, and to see her do and say things that you wouldn't think she would have said based on how she acted before. It makes me wonder if she doesn't show emotion because she wants to remain tough so no one can hurt her like Royal once did when he left, or if she genuinely is like that...

The Royal Tenenbaums

Gottschalk 1

Lauren Hope Gottschalk

Mrs. Robbins

Critical Analysis of Film and Literature

30 October 2014

The Royal Tenenbaums

One symbol of The Royal Tenenbaums that stood out to me was Richie Tenenbaum's

headband. At the start of the film it is seen that Tenenbaum wears this headband all day, everyday. 

Even as time progresses, specifically 22 years later, Tenenbaum is still wearing the headband. I think 

that Tenenbaum wore the headband at a younger age because he wanted to show people that he was an 

athlete. When Tenenbaum's tennis career ultimately failed he did not take off the headband. He 

continued to wear it. I think this was because Tenenbaum wanted to hold onto the golden moments of 

his past career. In short, he did not want to let go of what was once good. After Tenenbaum 

hears and sees mistakenly that Margo Tenenbaum has been in a relationship with Eli Cash, he takes the 

headband off. The headband to Tenenbaum symbolizes hope. As a child he wore the headband non-

stop because he may have been hopeful to win his tennis matches. As a adult he continue to wore it 

because he may have thought that his tennis career still was alive or that him and Tenenbaum possibly 

still could have a romantic future together even though she was just married. Lastly, Tenenbaum took 

off the headband after he hears and sees mistakenly that Margo is involved in a passionate relationship 

with Eli Cash. His hope was lost. 

Why does Wes Anderson have Tenenbaum take off his headband after he finds out about the

relationship between Tenenbaum and Cash and not cut to a shot where Tenenbaum is taking 

off his headband immediately? 

The Royal Tenenbaums

The Royal Tenenbaums, a comedy with some heavy moments is definitely an iconic film for many reasons. I believe that the ending of this film was particularly interesting and relatable to the ending of The Graduate. Both of which were filmed in a comical manner but for serious reasoning.
In The Royal Tenenbaums and The Graduate the directors of the film decided to end with a wedding scene. In The Graduate, Benjamin crashes the wedding of Elaine Robinson and her fiance in which there is a lot of violence to win over the woman he loves, the way this is shot is interesting in how Elaine decides to go with him and there are a lot of quick cuts from the different actions going on in this part of the film. In The Royal Tenenbaums ending right before the wedding there is almost a calm moment of multiple discussions until Eli crashes his car into the side of the house. There is then a lot of the same violence that occurs in The Graduate, though for a different reason as Chas tries to attack Eli for nearly killing his kids and killing the dog; which is Chas fighting for the ones he loves in a protective sense.

If this film were designed to example The Graduate, then Royal would've shifted in character to fight for Ethel and not have her marry Henry Sherman. Why do you think Anderson chose to end The Royal Tenenbaums the way he did?

The Royal Tenenbaums

The Royal Tenenbaums is a film ruled by bold, unique, instantly recognizable characters. I think that one of the most interesting characters is family friend Eli Cash. At first he seems like nothing more than Richie's slightly eccentric best friend who dresses like a cowboy for some unknown reason. However, as the film progresses, he becomes increasingly odd. More specifically, every time we see him, he is doing something more bizarre. It is almost as if he has not started doing drugs until partway through the film. For example, when we first see him as an adult, the subject matter of his novel is a bit odd, but certainly nothing shocking. Then however, we see Margot open her closet and find Eli inside, half undressed. The fact that Eli is having an affair with her plays into this as well. This is particularly evident in the scene where Eli climbs out the window and raises his hand to Royal in some odd kind of salute, and the scene where Eli breaks up with Margot and seems blissfully unaware of what is going on. In the climax of the film, Eli comes screeching down Archer avenue in full warpaint, and nearly runs over Ari and Uzi. This is the final straw, and he eventually reverts back to mere eccentricity by the epilogue. Do you think Anderson intended these scenes to be a progression of Eli's bizarre behavior?

Annie Hall

Annie Hall is a fantastic and comedic film that gives an insight on the exact thoughts and actions of Alvy Singer. Personally, this was one of my favorite movies that we have watched in class so far for it’s meaningful story, interesting filming techniques, and hilarious jokes that pulled everything together. But overall, I was drawn to how Woody Allen broke the fourth wall multiple times throughout the film, which is not a concept that is seen often.

Breaking the fourth wall made for a very comical and interesting technique. It made the audience feel as if he was talking to us and trying to get our ideas and answers. It made the film very interesting and almost interactive. It was a very different connection with a leading character that I am personally not used to, and I really enjoyed seeing the use of it in this film.

One of my favorite scenes which uses the method of breaking the fourth wall is the one  

shown above. It is a scene in which Alvy has a flashback to his childhood when he was in school 

and already had interests in girls. The most interesting thing about this was how although they 

were in a flashback, full grown Alvy Singer was filmed sitting in his younger selves’ chair talking 

back to the teacher and to the rest of the class. The interesting contrast between childlike 

behavior and the mature topics they were covering was extremely humorous and very enjoyable.


What effect did breaking the fourth wall have on the audience and why do you think he decided to use it for this film?

Annie Hall

Annie Hall starts off with a shot of Alvy Singer, the main character, speaking directly to the camera. He explains his life in a very pessimistic way, using humor, but gets more serious when he talks about his relationship with Annie. The question of why the relationship ended is the mystery of the film. The story goes through Alvy’s life in a series of flashbacks to find the answer to the mystery.

The film is highly focused on Alvy searching for the secret to a successful relationship, the necessity and the absurdity of love also becomes a major theme. Alvy revisits his life through flashbacks, slowly putting the pieces together about why he can’t have a successful relationship.

First, he goes through his childhood. Then he starts questioning his relationship with his first two wives. The film ends by almost celebrating the failed romance between Alvy and Annie.

The opening monologue posed questions about relationships and what makes them work; the film’s ending attempts to answer them. However, it is only at the very end when a lonely and unhappy Alvy Singer realizes what love really is. “Love is totally irrational and absurd, but necessary.”

Annie Hall

The movie Annie Hall successfully uses unique techniques throughout to make it more cinematically pleasing. The most noticeable and frequent one used is the breaking of the fourth wall. Throughout the movie Woody Allen looks into the camera and the audience and basically gives a personal narrative of his thoughts to the audience. These personal narratives tell a lot about Woody Allen's character Alfie in the film and especially shows how judgmental he is.

What is so groundbreaking about the breaking the fourth wall in Annie Hall is how frequent Allen decided to use the technique. He even starts out the opening scene with his character looking directly into the camera and gives us background. This works well with the type of character Allen wanted to present with Alfie. Another reason it's so special in Annie Hall, it incorporates other people in the breaking of the fourth wall. Not only does it give Alfie's inner perspective but it also explains a lot about the character who are also in the scene.

Also Annie Hall has now made breaking the fourth wall a common used technique in the world of television and movies. A modern example of this breaking of the Fourth wall is in House of Cards with Frank Underwood. In both Annie Hall and House of Cards breaking the fourth wall are to show inner thoughts that are necessary to have said but without a narrator.

Not using a narrator helps the audience directly connect what's being said to the character. It makes the actions of the person more expectable and fitting for the characters personality. It advocates for the character gives perspective of the wall breaking.

Annie Hall

Throughout the film Annie Hall, Alvy fails (often with comedic effect) at nearly all his relationships. That being said, his relationship with Annie was most unlike the others since although it ended, it had a positive effect on each character.

Alvy's first relationship with his wife Susan was notable because though his wife Susan was very passionate in their relationship Alvy received no pleasure from any of it. They clearly liked one another, shown initially through their conversation before one of Alvy's stand-up routine. Their relationship was healthy, they slept together, laughed, but it fizzled out due to something that Alvy didn't understand.

His second relationship was cold and quick, with a snobbishly intelligent woman that more or less was the opposite of Alvy's first relationship. The end to this relationship was not his fault, and it was clearly for the better.

Alvy's relationship with Annie however is where his understanding of relationships takes form. His relationship with Annie is very real, as seen in their hilarious moment in the kitchen with the lobsters. Alvy had never been acting or laughing like that with another one of his partners, and it was in stark contrast to his usually morose self.  Additionally, their relationship was the first to be shown to have it's ups and downs during it's duration. Alvy's other relationships ended when the relationship had a downward trend, whilst his relationship with Annie continued, either because they got over something or they simply ignored it. Either way, the point was that they tried to keep it going for each other.

At the end of Alvy's relationship with Annie, the first real breakup was mutual. They were on a plane, and both of them decided to end the relationship for the benefit of the other. Though Alvy did have his doubts and tried to rekindle the relationship with a marriage proposal, he still accepted the mutual end to their time together. This was reflected at the end, where Alvy realized what went wrong: Nothing. Relationships come and go, and as he put it, they're crazy but essential.

Annie Hall

Annie Hall tells the story of Alvy and Annie's relationship through the use of flashbacks of Alvy's life with Annie. In some of these memories, Alvy could either step out of the memory that really happened and talk directly to the audience or the real time Alvy could be inside the memory as an observer.

In this scene above, we are seeing one of Alvy's memories with Annie and to prove one of his points, he stops the memory and he and the professor step out of line to talk directly to the audience. Alvy also brings someone new into the scene just to prove his point to the audience. After the conversation outside of the memory, Alvy says, "boy, if life were only like this" to show how convenient this way of communication would be if he could do whatever he wanted in the real world.

This is also true when Alvy is on the street in a memory; he can just pull random people aside and talk to them, and nothing would be strange about it.

This scene also stuck out to me because it was Annie, Alvy, and Rob observing a memory in Alvy's parents house, and even though his parents will never hear or see him, he starts talking back to them and Rob has to tell him, "they can't hear you". I thought this was interesting because it is obvious that if Alvy is watching a memory of himself, that he thinks he can make people in the memory respond to him. It contrasts to in previous memories when he was able to make the people around him respond in a completely normal way, but now he is simply an observer in this memory. Did this experiment add to the comedic effect of the movie, or did it distract from the plot by adding to the memories?