The Royal Tenenbaums; One Scene is Worth a Thousand Words

In the movie The Royal Tenenaums, there is a scene where Royal Tenenbaum is laying in bed being evaluated by a doctor with his whole family standing on one side of the bed. A lot can be inferred about the relationships in the movie from this particular scene. The characters in the sequenced are framed with the a close up of the doctor, yet he is not in focus. Royal Tenenbaums family is the most clear to see in this scene even though it could be considered a medium or long shot of a few of the characters. All of the characters are arranged so you can see the facial expression of each one. I would say these scenes are composed to look crowded, making the family look larger. There is a lot going on and a lot of relationships throughout the movie yet it is all within one family and this scene captures that.

What time find most interesting about this scene are all the trophies in the background. There really isn't any mention of them directly throughout the movie, so we can assume this is a way of telling us of how successful the family or a member or the family may be. I believe the most noticeable part of this scene is Royal Tenenbaum and how he is laying in the bed. This is one of the times we see him really vulnerable throughout the film and it is portrayed in the way he is laying in the bed.

According to this sequence you can tell who is closest and most comfortable with Royal. Richie and Royal's close friend are the closest to his bed. These are the two throughout the movie that really listen to Royal and sympathize with him. Next are his grandchildren, who just met Royal and don't have any hostility towards him.  The next closest character is his wife who was willing to let him live in the house and talked with him without too much hostility. The furthest characters are his adopted daughter, and his son that is most angry and hostile towards him. This shows distance in the relationship and less closeness. This scene does move the composition forward because they all do show concern for their father while the doctor is there. Though there are some issues and bad relationships, they are all there to hear what the doctor has to say and if the father will be okay. The way this scene is set up does have a similar appearance to the last supper. They are all gathered around one main subject.  That is interesting to consider when watching the rest of the movie.