Anderson’s third film is arguably his most personal film as it deals directly with the subject of divorce, a topic that deeply affected a young Wes as his parents divorced when Anderson was only 8-years-old. It is in Tenenbaums that Anderson most directly addresses the role of fatherhood and the dangers of refusing to accept that role. The film starts with the Tenenbaum family patriarch, Royal communicating to his children that he and their mother are separating.
As the film progresses, an aging Royal, having abandoned his children after the separation, decides that he wants his family back because he’s run out of money. Considering that when they were young, Royal treated his children as nothing more than money-making accessories, his now