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Synecdoche New York is full of these small details. I've seen the movie at least three or four times and on each viewing I discover something new. Just a handful I can remember off the top of my head (spoiler tagged, just to be safe): Time shifts. Watch all the clocks/calendars/newspapers/etc. They're never consistent with the actual flow of the scene. The breakfast scene at the start jumps by minutes, then days, then months. Also the alarm clock in the first shot displays 7:45. Then in the last scene Caden sees a clock face drawn on the wall of the rundown city that shows 7:45, so there's a cyclical thing going on that also plays to the movie's theme of interconnectedness of everything, the end being contained in the beginning and vice versa. Sammy looming in the background of most of the shots in the first twenty minutes of the movie. He's not so obvious the first time you watch it, but on repeat viewings you start to wonder how you didn't notice him at all before. Caden interchanging with the various characters around him. This becomes a major plot point by the end, but there are some subtle points leading up to it that are cool when you notice them on repeat viewings--the character in his daughter's cartoons being one, Little Winky in the book his therapist introduces him to being another. Caden's project becomes increasingly larger in scale while his ex-wife's paintings become increasingly smaller, to the point where they're microscopic. There are also some moments that aren't subtle at all--they're quite overt--but they make me laugh every time I think about them. The "everyone is tattooed" moment is great: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2KstIkFPIU#t=48m03s If you can't guess, I really love this movie. BonesJackson has a new favorite as of 19:02 on May 25, 2012 |
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May 25, 2012 18:52
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Rupert Buttermilk posted:I was watching The Royal Tenenbaums last night, and caught one thing I never picked up on before. Don't know if I buy that. Certainly possible but I don't know that there's enough to substantiate it. As far as the closet scene goes, I don't think either Margot or Eli knew they would run into each other there, but Eli's not-so-secret infatuation with the Tenenbaum family (and especially Margot) has led to this sort of circumstance numerous times in the past so it doesn't come entirely as a shock. Sort of like when Mama Baum says that Eli has been sending her his grades and book reviews for years. They all just brush it off as Eli being Eli.
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Jun 28, 2012 18:09
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Rupert Buttermilk posted:While I agree that Eli's infatuation is no secret, Margot hasn't been home in years, so why would she expect Eli to be hiding in the closet? If that's something that happens every weekend when she arrives, maybe, but I don't think that's the case. Also, who else would she be calling? She doesn't expect it; it just isn't so far out of his usual weird behavior as to surprise her. Now it's been a few years since I've seen the movie, but doesn't Eli just apologize and promptly leave? Why would he do that if either one was expecting the other? It's more that he was caught in the act again and, as if by routine, apologizes for his oddness and goes. And I'm not saying Margot doesn't call Eli in those other instances, there's simply not enough info to say she does. It may be a case of a character doing what a character does and not necessary related to anything going on on the screen.
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Jun 28, 2012 18:34
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Rupert Buttermilk posted:He doesn't apologize and leave, the scene ends when he pops out from behind her hanging clothes and puts his hat on. Plus, the moment she opens the door to her closet, she says hello. Twice, actually. Ok, maybe you're right. I remember that scene playing out differently in my head. Also, how am I supposed to get anything done now that I know the entirety of Royal Tenenbaums is on youtube??  As a side note: "That cab has a dent in it," is one of my favorite lines from the whole flick. BonesJackson has a new favorite as of 20:20 on Jun 28, 2012 |
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Jun 28, 2012 20:18
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