Jack reid

12K3

Media_ Mr Smith

Using Mise en-Scene, select one character to analyse and explain the ways in which the
chosen character is represented.

The Royal Tenenbaums, a 2001 motion picture written and directed by Wes Anderson,
starring numerous actors/actresses such as Gwyneth Paltrow, Ben Stiller and Owen
Wilson. Released in the UK on the 15th March 2002 after being nominated for an Oscar
and winning other numerous movie awards. The 2 genre’s of the film are comedy and
drama. This production was rated at certificate 15.
The character of which I will be analysing is Margot Tenenbaum; played by Gwyneth
Paltrow and Irene Gorovaia. Margot the adopted daughter of Royal and Etheline
Tenenbaum, a troubled young girl interested in plays and writing, constantly reminded of
her non heritage to the family. Her upbringing as an outsider gave Margot the incentive to
run away with younger brother and then alone to return with half a finger missing. Margot
is somewhat of an individual in the way not many understand her and her concepts. Her
main interests being reading and writing plays. Her perfectly cropped blonde hair and thick
heavy eyeliner create a certain sadness non of the other characters portray, a sadness
which shows a darker side, showing Margot is a darker character to what meets the eye.
As Margot first appears on the screen her appearance yet colorful is very deep and dark
cynical form of way. The connotations of this being she is confident yet closed away from
the world, she finds it difficult to enjoy connecting with other people. As the Film begins it
gives you a shot of the house, showing where each child has there bedrooms. Margot’s
being on the top floor represents how she shuts herself down rather than communicating
naturally with her family. Otherwise this my mean her parents placed her on the top floor
as she is not biologically within the family. Either way the manner in which she has been
placed the furthest away from the heart of the house “the living room” means she does not
have the same connection to her parents/ the family as other siblings may.
In most scenes Margot’s setting is darker than many other of the characters, this means
she had hidden daemons' in which she feels she cannot express to the rest of the family.
Take her bedroom for instance and the way this scene is shot, her deep red walls covered
in different wildlife such as animals and prints, she also has one wall totally devoted to
famous plays and productions. Before you enter her room the shot shows you the front of
her door, covered in “WARNING , DO NOT ENTER SIGNS” meaning that Margot likes her
personal space and enjoys being alone cut off from her mother and siblings. As you enter
the room a shot of Margot listening to music with headphones, headphones being the key
point here. She doesn't want to share, she wants to drown out all background noise from
her day to day life and enter a world of freedom and self discovery. The shot then gets
wider to show her sitting alone on her bed with sheer drapes either side, this reflecting a
cover up from others, or even representing a stage and her being centre of attention. This
then makes me question is Margot so interested in performing centre stage in front of
everybody not playing herself but playing a fictional character. This character being
something she can hide behind so her “companions” don’t have to interact with the real
Margot. As I said above the way in which her walls are covered in animals could symbolize
she only relies on animals, they can not talk or answer back, she is able to be free and be
herself around them as she knows they have no ability to judge.
The scene the quickly jumps to Margot in her dark room, pursuing her hobby, taking
photographs. An unusual hobby for such a young girl as its level of antisocial is very
minimal, another representation of her wanting to be alone and cut off from the world.
Margot’s lighting differs from scene to scene but has the general theme of being dark and
moody, this being very much like her personality. The lighting throughout is dim creating an
uncomfortable atmosphere whenever Margot is on stage. This makes me think that Margot
is a very dim character that has no interest in making friends and being socially correct.
Her costume and props are all very personal and may all have deeper meanings to them,
for instance her music listened to with earphones something being very personal and in
depth. Even though her love for animals is so strong she still wears animal furs and a
blood stained animal costume in the scene where she showcases her performance. I
interpret this as a lack on compassion, know body seems to care for her why should she
care for any body else?. This kind of attitude is a constant theme within Margot’s life/
performance. The main symbolising prop’s are her brothers ‘failed’ paintings of her,
everyone her having her head in a book and having no smile at all. Her siblings and family
must clearly notice her unhappiness within the family and are yet to act on it. This sending
Margot into a darker more depressed way of life.
As a character Margot is very dissociated and individual, her free spirit and dark
interpretation of life are completely contrasting. The way in which she can just get up and
run away for weeks on end and still survive means she is strong willed and independent.
she is always seeking for adventure, looking for new things to discover. When deep down
she is soul searching and most of all searching for the father figure she never had.
The camera angles used where generally ones favored by Wes Anderson, everyone
centre and all surroundings very symmetrical, but in Margot’s case there were a lot of use
of levels. The use of levels in a camera angle is normally used to show a characters status
and social class, in my opinion levels used in Margot’s case are to show her feelings and
emotions. Meaning when there are shots of her looking up to the camera she is seeking
something she has yet to receive such as a strong figurative male in her life.
In terms of the ‘5 codes’, each one is explored individually and in Wes Anderson’s own
abstract way. The enigma code being that the story is fictional and has been written, also
the question of how has Margot lost half of her finger. The main point to unveiling the
symbolic code is when the bird is set free on top if the rooftop. A bird is let free from its
cage and left to fly and roam as it pleases. This meaning the Tenenbaum children and free
to do as they please , live here life in what ever manner they fancy. There are no more
rules and regulation to abide by and no more hiding from the rest of the family.
In my personal opinion I think Margot is the most interesting character and I imagine her
personality to keep unveiling throughout the story, you can see in her eyes that there is
something left untold. This is a great skill which Anderson has used as it keeps the
audience watching and obliges them to annotate Margot’s every move. Judging by what I
saw Margot has the louder more forthcoming story to tell, she has meaning and dark
aspects. Which in my opinion make me want to investigate and find out more about her
life. There is clearly more than meets the eye about what Margot is Margot, such an
unhappy Tenenbaum.