OVERLAY REPORT

In the 2001 film *The Royal Tenenbaums*, the destination of the "main character" at the climax depends on whether one views the protagonist as the patriarch, **Royal Tenenbaum**, or the emotional core of the film, **Richie Tenenbaum**. ### 1. Royal Tenenbaum: The House on Archer Avenue If **Royal Tenenbaum** (Gene Hackman) is considered the main character, he is at the **Tenenbaum family home (111 Archer Avenue)** during the film's external climax—the wedding of his estranged wife, Etheline, to Henry Sherman. * **Where he goes:** Royal is already present at the house for the wedding ceremony held in the side yard. However, when the drug-addled **Eli Cash crashes his Porsche** into the side of the house, Royal rushes into the wreckage. * **Why:** Royal's presence at the wedding is the culmination of his redemptive arc. After his terminal illness ruse was exposed, he spent time living at the **375th Street Y (YMCA)** and working as an **elevator operator** to prove he could be unselfish. He returned to the house to grant Etheline a divorce and attend the wedding as a reformed man. His specific action at the climax is **rescuing his grandsons, Ari and Uzi**, from the crash—an act of genuine heroism that finally earns him the forgiveness of his most resentful son, Chas. ### 2. Richie Tenenbaum: The Hospital and the Tent If **Richie Tenenbaum** (Luke Wilson) is considered the main character (as he often is in structural analyses), the "emotional climax" involves a different sequence of locations: * **Where he goes:** After a montage of realizing the extent of Margot’s secret life, Richie goes into a **bathroom**, shaves his head and beard, and attempts suicide. He is then rushed to the **hospital**. Upon checking himself out against medical advice, he returns to the Tenenbaum house and goes to **his childhood tent** on the roof. * **Why:** Richie attempts suicide due to the overwhelming depression and "thwarted belongingness" he feels regarding his love for his adopted sister, Margot. His subsequent move to the **tent** is his attempt to find a safe, nostalgic sanctuary where he can finally be honest. It is in this tent that he and Margot confess their mutual love, marking the resolution of their primary conflict. ### Specific Detail: The Epilogue At the very end of the film (the resolution), Royal suffers a fatal heart attack. He is taken to the **hospital** by ambulance, with Chas by his side. The film concludes at a **cemetery**, where the family gathers for Royal's funeral. The specific detail of his headstone serves as a final comedic nod to his character; it claims he **"died tragically rescuing his family from the wreckage of a destroyed sinking battleship,"** a fictionalized version of his actual act of saving his grandsons from the car crash at the climax.