The Royal Tenenbaums

How this film uses it

Anderson's signature shots are symmetrical, with everything lined up toward the center of the frame (the Tenenbaum house hallways, the elevator, the tent in the backyard). They turn the home into a museum of people who stopped growing up. It looks as if nothing has been allowed to move.

Where to see it

The shot of Chas and his sons standing in the hallway in matching red tracksuits. They are framed like a portrait they've been trapped inside.

How this film uses it

Alec Baldwin's all-knowing narrator reads from 'The Royal Tenenbaums' as though the film is a novel. That makes the story feel like a family legend, told from the distance of something already over.

Where to see it

The opening chapter-book framing. It tells you these lives have already been defined, catalogued and judged as failures before the film even begins.

How this film uses it

Every Tenenbaum family problem (suicide attempts, car crashes, incestuous longing) is delivered in Anderson's flat, museum-piece style. As a matter of fact, you can read the tragedy clearly because nobody ever acts it up.

Where to see it

Richie's suicide attempt. It is set to Elliott Smith's 'Needle in the Hay' and shot as neatly and carefully as every other scene.

How this film uses it

Each Tenenbaum sibling has their own kind of music, and so does their childhood friend Eli (Margot's Nico, Richie's 70s rock, Eli's country). The song choices track the family's emotional history more precisely than any dialogue.

Where to see it

Margot's arrival at the bus station in slow motion to Nico's 'These Days'. It is the most iconic musical moment in the film.

How this film uses it

The Tenenbaum dinner is the first time the family is actually together. It shows that Royal has done so much damage that a real reunion is impossible. All they can manage is to act one out.

Where to see it

The family dinner where Royal's lie about dying is exposed. Every character's grief and rage comes out at the same time.