The Royal Tenenbaums

The Royal Tenenbaums is a family comedy. This is a story about three genius children whose parents divorced. Every child in this family has high achievements: Margot became a wealthy playwright whereas Richie is a successful tennis player; Chas works in the financial sphere of business. From the first view, it is a comedy story about a family. However, the analysis of one of the main characters, Chas, shows there are serious problems within the family: conflicts, a generation gap, psychological trauma caused by parents’ divorce and, as the result, indifference, disrespect, and dishonesty among family members.

Chas, the main character of the film, is incompatible with other members of the family. Although the children’s education was the highest priority for parents, Richie, Margot and Chas are estranged from one another. There are no spiritual connections between the parents and children. Regardless of the parents, Chas has no sincere relationships with Margot and Richie. Chas has earned a big amount of money enough to live, but he does not know what to do with this sum of money. He is too young to cope with this difficult life challenge. The parents are to blame. They have neglected the issues of friendship and kindness, love, and honesty during the upbringing. Chas did not enjoy his childhood. Being a talented child, he experienced problems in adapting to the rules of the society.

Chas became rich at an early age. In his eighteenth, he has bought a real estate. He recollects sad and unpleasant memories from his childhood. Once, Chas was shooting with his father on the Eagle’s island, they played on the different teams. The father shot his son. Chas was confused and asked what had happened. However, the father denied the existence of any team at all. He recollects this situation many times in adulthood. As a result, he could not make friends with others and suffer from being alone. Being a married man, Chas devotes all his free time to his two children. When his wife died in a plane crash, he becomes a widower who is trying to support and protect his children. Chas is striving to build a fortress to isolate their children from all the risks. The loss of his wife hurts Chas so deeply that he becomes afraid of everything. Chas worries about the children’s safety. Having survived the plane crash, Chas becomes rather spontaneous in his actions and unhelpful without her wife.

Chas does not try to connect with other members of the family. Each member is isolated, cut off from the rest. Throughout the film, one cannot observe sincerity between the members of the family. After several years of separation, the main characters Richie, Margot and Chas have become indifferent to each other. Even when Chas finds about Margot’s smoking, he does not react. Although the cancer illness of the father has gathered the whole family, the relationships do not improve. Royal could not reunite the family in one moment. The members of the family appear apathetic even to mortal diseases. As to Chas, he behaves in an arrogant and selfish way in this situation. He does not respect anyone. Moreover, he does not want to make a step forward and compromise. Due to the deep depression after having lost his wife, he refuses to show any regret to anyone at all. Without anyone to support and protect him, Chas feels sorrowful.

The family is similar to state. The rights, obligations and power are divided among its members. Every member of the family fulfills a particular role within the family. This function depends on the gender, age, family traditions, and the environment inside the family. Family members can perform the functions of a child, brother, sister, cousin and later a parent, uncle, or aunt. In fact, the family roles are changing with the time and age. On the one hand, from the early age, Chas was a role model child. He satisfied and outdid his parents’ expectations with all his achievements in the sphere of international finance. He was not an isolated child since Chas parents did not pay much attention to their children at all. Nevertheless, judging from Chas manners and behavior, he was an abandoned child. When Chas became an adult, he turned into the rebel child. He refuses to do even a small favor for a family. He expresses indifference and protests against this whole history of the mortal illness. Chas is not flexible. He does not want to compromise. This way of behavior is too difficult to change. On the other hand, the parents are not the leaders in the family of Tenenbaums. The children do not follow the parents’ advice since the parents are not really interested in bringing up their children. In addition, the generation gap is depicted in the film. Chas does not fulfill the role of a brother too. Firstly, he does not have such a possibility. Secondly, he does not know how to do it. In the family of Tenenbaums, nobody has responsibilities, only wishes. The father wants to unite the family in six weeks after many years of separation and ignorance.

The aspects of marriage and children apply to Chas. The marriage is a union of man and woman. Both sides express their commitment, fidelity, and care. To my mind, Chas’ wife was the only person with the spiritual connection. Consequently, he could not cope with her loss. His wife inspired and encouraged him. She would be for Chas in any difficult situation. Definitely, one can build a stable and happy family with such a caring person. Indeed, the family was the castle with her. Truly, the family should be one’s comfort zone. Moreover, the film implies that the family is the most valuable in life. If one builds it honestly and sincerely, it will become a perfect shelter for a person. A real family consists of not only the husband and wife but also kids with their positive and negative feelings and difficulties. The aspect of children upbringing also applies to Chas character. The main character does everything possible to protect his two boys. The Royal Tenenbaums shows that to have a good family and marriage, it is important to cultivate the ability to hear and to be heard. It means that the emotional and spiritual connections help to build a close-knit family.

To sum up, a family is one of the most valuable aspects of life. To my mind, there are many families similar to the Royal Tenenbaums. Although each of them has achieved something, it does not contribute to their relationships. They create an illusion of the family. The lack of communication on the spiritual level causes the great problems. Each member of the family lives separately. Because of this, the family members are alien to each other. Chas is a model of an abandoned child. Owing to parents’ ignorance and misunderstandings, he could not adapt to the rules of the society. Moreover, he could not cope with his wife’s death. Without friends and real family, he fails to handle big life challenges and becomes vulnerable. Obviously, friendly relationships and support from the family make the life easier. The family could be formed outside from the house, but Chas does not have any at all.