How does Wes Anderson use props, costume, setting, and camera angles to

give clues to the audience about Richie’s future in ‘The Royal Tenenbaums’?

In ‘The Royal Tenenbaums’ Wes Anderson gives clues to the audience about what
may happen in Richie’s future in many ways. Props are a good example of this. For
example: as a child, Richie seems to always carry around a tennis racquet, which
suggests to the audience that he may become a professional tennis player in future.
Richie’s room is also partially decorated in the Wimbledon colours, which shows his
affection for tennis and again connotes that he aspires to have a career which is
associated with tennis when he grows up.

The camera angles of ‘The Royal Tenenbaums’ are also used to provide clues about
Richie’s future as he is always in the centre of the screen, making the audience focus
on him. This shows that Richie is important and likes to be the centre of attention.
When he is shown with his siblings, he is always seen to be closer to the camera than
the others, which emphasises his importance over them and makes him seem to be
the more superior child. This suggests he may be a higher figure in society as an
adult.

Setting in another thing which emphasises his importance as his room is the attic
floor of the Tenenbaum house. This shows that he may have a closer relationship to
his parents than his siblings, as he has been put above them. You could infer from
this that not only is he literally higher up, but to his parents he may be better than his
brother and sister. This could also show that he will be the most successful in future
as he is perhaps the most well-liked- he is also shown with a friend during the film
when nobody else is.

When he was a child, Richie’s room was covered with many neatly set out framed
paintings which he himself painted of his sister Margot. This implies that he has love
for his sister other than the ordinary brother and sister love and could mean that
when he is older he expects something more than what they already have; or some
may look into it that when he is older he will become Margot’s stalker.

Costume is a major clue to Richie’s future as not only does he carry around a tennis
racquet constantly as a child, but he is also always in full tennis gear, so there is no
mistaking what he aspires to be when he is older. There are similarities to what he
wears to that of Bjorn Borg, as over his tennis gear he sometimes wore a suit, much
life Bjorn did. This may foreshadow that if he does manage to go into a tennis career,
it won’t last and he will retire early- again, as Bjorn did.
 In conclusion, the clues given out by Wes Anderson in ‘The Royal Tenenbaums’
indicate that in total when Richie is older he will at first be successful as a tennis
player or something similar, he’ll be very well-liked, but also that his obsession for his
sister may grow to something more extreme.