The Royal Tenenbaums · written by Wes Anderson & Owen Wilson · 2001

Etheline tells Margot she may be falling for Henry and reveals his proposal; Margot is delighted at the idea of a father.

Scene 55 of 143 · ≈ 1 min on screen · Act two

Etheline
Margot

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Begins 46 min into a 1:59 film

The story so farBefore scene 55

After losing his hotel room, Royal claims he has only weeks to live so he can move back in with his estranged family; as the truth unravels, he must find a way to be useful and earn a place in their lives.

Scenes 1–39
Royal is absent from the children’s adult lives, and their family remains shaped by his betrayals and abandonment.
Scenes 40–47
Royal wants a path back to Etheline and the children, and claims impending death will give him one.
Scenes 48–50
He returns to the house and openly asks his children for a chance to make things right.
Just before
Scene 52
Royal and Pagoda plan further instructions; Royal greets Etheline and Henry as they return from a play.
Scene 53
Margot and Eli walk through their deteriorated neighborhood; Eli tells her Richie wrote that he loves her.
Scene 54
At Etheline’s excavation, Henry apologizes for proposing and falls into a pit; Etheline admits she is nervous and has not slept with a man in eighteen years.
Scene 55
This scene

55INT. MARGOT’S BEDROOM. DAY.

Margot lies in her bed behind a mosquito net watching a downhill skiing competition on her portable television. Etheline stands in the doorway and says calmly:

ETHELINE

I think I’m falling for Henry.

Margot looks to Etheline. She pulls open the mosquito netting.

MARGOT

That’s amazing.

ETHELINE

What do you think of him?

MARGOT

(excited)

I think he’s gorgeous.

ETHELINE

I’ll tell you a secret. He asked me to

marry him.

MARGOT

(dreamily)

I’m going to have a father.

ETHELINE

(hesitates)

Well, I haven’t accepted yet. Besides,

you already have a father, sweetheart.

MARGOT

Not really. Plus, now he’s dying.

CUT TO:

The hallway outside Margot’s room. Pagoda is poised in the dark, watching from the stairs.