The Royal Tenenbaums Movie Analysis

Spice of Salinger
Having your book turned into a movie is a dream come true: the genius of your mind on the big screen for all to see, coupled with a small dose of fame and fortune. It is everything an author could hope for. Not J.D. Salinger, though. It is well known that the brilliant American author refused to sell his movie rights. Filmmakers had to craft the little pieces of Salinger in their hearts into other, Salinger-inspired stories. One of these stories is played out in the film The Royal Tenenbaums. You don’t have to look closely to find the bits of the Glass family stuck in this tale.
You can see Franny Glass echoed in the characteristics of Margot Tenenbaum. Not only does Margot of the film carry small tangible Frannyisms, such as books, cigarettes, and a singular fur coat, but the matters of her heart are the same. In the novel Franny and Zooey, Franny hides her true self, covering it up with gestures and apologies suitable for a scholarly young lady. In The Royal Tenenbaums, Margot amplifies Franny’s secrecy, hiding everything from past marriages to her smoking habits. Margot’s relationship with her husband, Raleigh, mirrors Franny’s relationship with her boyfriend, Lane: distant not-exactly lovers, “prestigious” males that don’t understand their partners. When Raleigh
In both “A Perfect Day for Bananafish” and “For Esme: with Love and Squalor”, an older man finds a friendship with a very young girl. These relationships, though pure, most would easily label perverted. In The Royal Tenenbaums, Margot and Richie Tenenbaum, who were raised as siblings, fall in love. This is not technically incestuous, because they are not related by blood, but few audiences applaud the pairing. Though these relationships are in no way of the same nature, they give the same feeling, invite you through the same door. They ask audiences to consider, Why does this make me