At the risk of potentially reading way too much into one moment, there's a subtle line in The Royal Tennenbaums that I think does a fantastically efficient job at showing the grown of Gene Hackman's character. It comes near the end when Richie confesses to his father that he's in love with Margot.
"Margot Tenenbaum?"
"Yeah."
"Since when?"
"Since always."
"Does she know? What does she feel about that?"
"I think she feels confused."
"Well, I can understand that, it's probably illegal!"
"I don't think so, we're not related by blood."
"... that's true."
What I love is how beautifully this moment was set up for Royal. Early in the film the narrator points out how he always introduced Margot to people as "my adopted daughter." It illustrates how much of a phony Royal is, trying to score points with people by making it seem he's a nurturing man that will raise a child who isn't his own. It's purely a status symbol for him and an ego trip.
But in this exchange near the end of the film, his response suggests that perhaps for the first time in his life, he almost forgot that Margot isn't related by blood. He now sees her as his daughter, not his adopted daughter.
I have no idea if that was the writer/director's intention, but I like to think it was, and I think Hackman's reading of the line brilliantly underscores this for me.
[link] [comments]
source https://www.reddit.com/r/movies/comments/svq5j5/my_favorite_subtle_moment_in_the_royal_tennenbaums/
Comments
Post a Comment