“Anybody interested in grabbing a couple of burgers and hittin’ the cemetery?”
Here’s a random thought about a film I love dearly that came to me while taking a shower a couple of days ago: the five Tenenbaums in the film The Royal Tenenbaums represent the five stages of grief. I won’t develop the thought very far, but I’ll show you the analogues I saw:
- Denial—Margot (Gwyneth Paltrow)
- Anger—Chas (Ben Stiller)
- Bargaining—Royal (Gene Hackman)
- Depression—Richie (Luke Wilson)
- Acceptance—Etheline (Angelica Huston)
Granted, I have somewhat forced this framework onto the film since none of the characters fall entirely neatly into the stages. Etheline suspects that Chas is depressed and Margot admits that she is. Also, the line between Richie and Margot is a bit fuzzy since both could be in depression or denial—both ran away at some point in their lives—but it is Richie’s actions in the middle of the film that speak to me that he’s the more depressed of the two. When I first saw the film, I thought the three children were three portraits of depression (I think the interpretation still stands), but viewing the whole family in different stages of grief seems to offer more room to play with interpretation. I don’t want to argue that the Tenenbaums are merely allegories of the grief stages since they are some of the most three-dimensional characters I have seen on film and interact with other wonderfully well-rounded characters.
I really don’t think there’s anything there. In fact, how dare you force this contrived framework onto the film! But then again, you might be onto something. Whatever the case, this kind of analysis is inherently hopeless. Yet as I’ve thought about it, I’ve come to accept your view.
Comment by Timbo — March 27, 2007 @ 10:02 am
I still remember watching this movie at the Laemmle when it came out. Ever been in a room where you feel like you are the only one who gets it? I remember several times being the only one in a full theater laughing out loud. The first couple of times I tried to hold back, but eventually I just let it rip and looked around, wondering why everyone else wasn’t appreciating the obvious genius displayed on screen.
I doubt Mr. Anderson had your stages of grief in mind when he made the movie, but I really think this fits as a nice framework for understanding the film. Too bad writing western novels and snorting cocaine aren’t one of the stages, then you would have a nice slot for Eli Cash.
Comment by James — April 12, 2007 @ 3:00 pm