Isolation

Isolation is prominent for the character Margot in  The Royal Tenenbaums. Her isolation from the family is prominent from the very beginning of her childhood. From the very beginning she was introduced as the adopted daughter. This separates her from the other siblings of the family. Being identified as the adopted daughter builds a wall from her and her family, a constant reminder that she never really belonged and never will belong. She is often shown distant from the family in the shots, not directly in the circle, just barely on the outside.  Even in the poster she is off to the side. She is even less connected from the center of the family than her mother's boyfriend. her isolation continues throughout her life and into her marriage. She is develops to habbit of locking herself in the bathroom alone. isolating herself from the world and her husband. This creates a huge distance between the two as shown in the picture below. The huge space filled with random messy junk shows the distance between the couple and the developing problems because of it. Margo's Isolation exists throughout her life, developing from an isolation as a child.

Eli Cash has his own form of Isolation. He suffered from isolation and separation from the Tenenbaum family because he never belonged. Eli Cash, from early childhood has spent his time and life pretending like he does belong, even when he doesn't. This set him up for a life time of pretending. Pretending to be someone he isn't. He is always seen wearing his cowboy outfit and hat. He pretends to be a cool, rough cowboy from the west, even though he's never even been there. His outfit is a symbol for how hard he tries to fit in and be accepted. He takes his whole personality to the extreme that everything he does is a dramatic act. He poses in almost every shot of him, forcing himself into an image of being cooler than he actually is. His every action, including the above shot, demands attention and recondition. Through this mask he puts on himself of being great and mighty, He is really just lost, helpless and looking for a sense of purpose. The above shot shows him in completely helpless from above. He seems to be falling, reaching up for someone to finally help and recognize him. Eli is lost completely with his isolation from the tenenbaoums family. His Isolation creates the problem of constantly needing to be recognized, because he was never truly recognized by them.