The Royal Tenenbaums

Zoe Fox

Mrs. Robbins

Period 3

The Royal Tenenbaums

The Royal Tenenbaums was an outstanding film which had the perfect balance of dramatic and comedic aspects. I think that something truly amazing was the use of costumes and how it extended the plot and character development through the film. At the beginning of the movie, the audience viewed the lives of the Tenenbaums when they were younger.

As you can see, all of the kids are wearing very stereotypical clothing for their character descriptions: a playwright, a genius, and a sporty tennis player. To me this is an interesting directing tactic which makes me wonder: did Wes Anderson use this method to help the audience follow which character is which or is there a deeper meaning? To me, I feel as if there is a deeper meaning because of what happens throughout the film in relation to their costume changes. As an audience member I definitely noticed a costume difference, but not a drastic one at all. Below is a photo of Margot and Richie, and as you can see, their costumes pretty much have not changed.

           

I think that this symbolizes how themselves as people have not changed because they are still either stuck in the past or just haven’t changed their mindset about their family since they were kids. However, Chas’ outfit has changed. He now wears a bright red track suit, which in my mind, represents caution and safety, since he has been paranoid about his wife’s death.

Chas’ mindset has changed and he shows outward hatred towards Royal, his father. In the final scene of the film, you can truly see who has changed and who has not through costumes. Truly, I believe that everyone in this film changed over the course of time. Also in my opinion, they all changed for the better. Margot, while her costume hasn’t changed, I think she definitely is. I think that the inside changed, which is a parallel to why her costume has not changed. Richie put his tennis career away, and although almost came close to ending his own life, he found the silver linings in Margot, his family, and his life. You can see that in his costume by his shaven face and new style. Chas has a changed tracksuit, and while some thought that the color only changed because black is what one should wear to a funeral, I thought that it might mean that he has accepted that there are dangers in life but you can’t plan out how you can stop all of them. The real heros are the ones that do the unexpected, like Royal saving his kids at the wedding, and I think that Chas finally realized that running fire drills and lock downs are keeping his children from being adventurous and finding the good things in life.

My question is: Do you think that the costuming is just part of Wes Andersons directing style or is there a deeper meaning? Or both?