The scene opens with a series of wide shots, none of which show much detail about Richie’s character. While Richie waits for Margo to arrive, there in an over-the-shoulder angle, with Richie in the foreground waiting for Margo’s bus. Immediately after Margo steps off of the bus, there is a mid shot of her. It is a shot from his point of view, but Margo’s enlarged size is not exactly what Richie would see. The director used this shot and enlargement of Margo in the frame in order to show where Richie’s focus is, which is on Margo. We are instantly pulled in to focus all of our attention on Margo, just as her brother is focused entirely on her during this reunion scene.
Before this moment of her arrival, the sounds have only been diegetic sounds, such as car noises and sirens, and the nondiegetic sound of the narrator talking. But once Richie has seen her, upbeat indie music begins playing. The music helps convey Margot’s emotions (and Richie’s), despite her character usually acting reserved and constrained. The music sets the tone and helps the audience better understand the characters and their emotions.
Additionally, everything before this moment has been relatively fast paced. Richie is asked to take a quick picture, and walks to do that as if he is a celebrity taking pictures with some fans. Then, people stream out of doors in the background behind him and lots of movement occurs. But once Margot steps of the bus, time slows down because we are experiencing this moment as Richie would. Nothing is moving except the two main characters. He loves her, and it becomes easy to tell this because the slow motion really emphasizes Margot and forces you to watch her character.
The lighting on Margot also helps to display Richie’s love. The sun is illuminating Margot and highlighting her as she walks. The colors she is wearing also add to the bright and glowing look. Her fur coat and shiny blonde hair stand out compared to the colors before she arrived, and the bright green bus she arrived on also help to display her importance and her effect on Richie. Richie also is presented in more of an illuminated light after he sees Margot, whereas before he is mostly the the shadows. In the background, the sun is shining and radiant, demonstrating the nature of this reunion scene.
We then switch to a close up shot of Richie, and then back to a dolly shot of Margot. As we switch between shots of the two characters, the camera is slowly zooming in on Richie. For the most part, this scene only uses a few different camera angles, rather than constantly introducing new ones, forcing the audience to give their full attention to the characters rather than adjust to new angles.
The last shot of this scene shows a two shot, where Richie and Margot, on either end of the screen, walk towards each other and embrace. The timing of these two characters walking together is matched perfectly with the zoom to highlight the moment that the scene has led up to, which is their embrace. This could be considered the climax of the scene itself, but is just one part of the rising action leading toward the climax of the storyline between Margot and Richie.
One style technique that director Wes Anderson uses often throughout this scene and in all of his movies is a symmetrical shot, with the character or main focus centered perfectly in the middle of the screen. This happens multiple times in the scene, where both Richie and Margot are split the screen in half by standing directly in the middle of the frame. Anderson uses this symmetry in order to make shots pleasing to the viewers. Symmetrical shots also pull your attention towards what Anderson wants you to be looking at, which is usually the main character in the scene.
Wes Anderson’s movies also mostly include the use of an omniscient third-person narrator, which helps to provide the audience with information that the characters themselves may or may not know. For example, the narrator in this scene tells us “as always, [Margot] was late,” which helps to develop her character provide more insight. Having narration instead of more character dialogue can entertain the audience with the narrator’s delivery. Omniscient narration also let’s the audience know more than the characters and therefore have a certain anticipation for what will happen.
One element that cannot be overlooked when watching “the Royal Tenenbaums” is the costume design, specifically the consistency of it over the plot duration of the film. When introducing the characters at the beginning, the audience becomes familiar with each character and their style and characteristics. Margot is dressed in furs and dresses despite being a child, just as she is many years later in this scene. Richie, although now dressed in a suit, continues to wear the same quirky tennis headband even though he hasn’t played tennis since his breakdown. The unique and highly coordinated costumes help develop the characters as individuals and bring yet another fascinating element to the film.
Anderson’s style itself is very distinctive and recognizable, and this scene from “the Royal Tenenbaums” is just one example of that. Between the storybook style, deadpan narration, and nostalgic feeling, the scenes in his movies come together to create eccentric but fascinating pieces of art.
Sources
Barsam, Richard Meran., and Dave Monahan. Looking at Movies: An Introduction to Film. 4th ed. New York: W.W. Norton, 2013. Print.
"5 Things You Can Learn From Wes Anderson's Symmetrical Style - The Shutterstock Blog." The Shutterstock Blog. N.p., 30 June 2014. Web. 21 Jan. 2016. http://www.shutterstock.com/blog/5-things-you-can-learn-from-wes-andersons-symmetrical-style>.
