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.
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| The Red Jumpsuits |
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| Ending Scene Black Jumpsuits |
I agree that these two characters had huge character developments throughout the film. I think that Anderson's use of costumes plays a huge part of their transition. In the beginning of the film, Royal is wearing dark sunglasses which shows his distance from his kids, but after 22 years his glasses are clear and we can actually see his eyes. This reveals how he is trying to "unmask" himself and open up to his children. When Chas was a kid, he was a very successful business man who wore business attire. After his wife died he switched to wearing tracksuits and became obsessed with his sons safety. The costume change here also reveals character development. I think that Richie was the one who changed the most in the film during his suicide scene. He takes off his regular costume and becomes almost an entirely new person.
ReplyDeleteI agree that these two characters had major changes throughout the film. I believe the point where you said Royal changed after he stopped trying to pursue his ex-wife. I think he came to a realization that as much as he may love her he can't have her because he's screwed up too many times. I also think that he was really only looking for closure with his kids mainly. The kids were what held him together I think. Royal started to accept Chas more and more throughout the film. In the beginning he didn't take him places only Richie, but towards the end of the film Royal takes his grandkids and Chas out to do crazy things that really shouldn't be done. I also agree with the point you made about how Chas changed when his father saved his kids. When his dad saved them it was a realization to himself that he can't control all dangers in his kids life.
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