Spin-Off - Margot Tenenbaum: The Wilderness Years

Recently I discovered the rather hip “Cinematic Corner” which is also currently hosting a “Spin-off blogathon” taking a minor character from one film and giving them a film of their own.

Now while I know that most of my regular readers may expect me to choose the cool as ice dropship pilot Corporal Ferro from “Aliens” especially given my obsession with Collette Hiller, however I felt that I pretty much covered the character in my “One I would save” post. I also tossed around the idea of Christopher Lambert’s ice cream man and underground militant Walter Mung from “Southland Tales” but ultimately I decided (and perhaps inspired in part by this month’s ongoing “WesAndermarch”) I decided to choose Margot Tenenbaum.

One of handful of truly interesting roles Gwyneth Paltrow has had, while at the same time also being one of the fewer roles were she truly embodied the character, in a role the likes of which we sadly haven’t seen her play since, as even though her role is largely consistent of hiding out in the bathroom and smoking she is still one of the more memorable members of the Tenenbaum clan.

True Margot could be considered to already be a leading character seeing how she is one of the three Tenenbaum children, yet at the same time she is also the one that we know the least about, outside of the occasional snapshot moments from her life which Wes Anderson chooses to show us, perfectly tying in with her secretive nature while at the same leaving her the character I most wanted to see more of.

So what would a spin of film focus on? Well the original film covers the early years of her life pretty thoroughly, including her success as a playwriting child prodigy and underdeveloped artist, aswell as her detached relationship with her adopted father, who openly reminds her of her adopted status by introducing her at social gatherings as his adopted daughter. Her childhood also includes her running away with her brother (and future boyfriend) Richie, aswell as a second attempt which lead to her loosing part of her finger, which is revealed to be the result of a wood chopping accident when she found her birth family. The rest of her life up to the impromptu family reunion is briefly covered in the private detective report commissioned by her husband Raleigh, which are shown in a series of intriguing snapshots of key moments of her life to the current day. 



Because of Margot’s secretive nature  of course only makes a spin off film covering these moments all the more interesting, especially when she is one of the few characters in the film which we still feel that we don’t feel that we truly know by the end of the film outside of the bare bones of her character.  

So what would a Margot spin-off be like? Well first I would like it to focus on those years we the snapshot moments from, especially as these are the ones which pose the most questions and to continue on from were the film leaves off would only potentially lead into romantic comedy territory which honestly would not suit her character in the slightest, even if the idea of a romantic film centred around a incestuous (of sorts) love affair is an amusing pitch to say the least.

With Margot not being the chattiest of characters, this spin off would have to be voice over driven, especially as I always imagined the internal monologue of Margot to be full of witty comments and observations, even if she may seem sedated on the surface.

Margot equally makes a great candidate for a spin off if only to give us the alternative view point of key moments from the film such as the divorce of her parents as well as more importantly her witnessing the Richie’s in game meltdown following her marriage her to Raleigh. While she seems unmoved during the scene it would be interesting to see if she ever felt anything for him at that moment, much like when she first felt anything for him, especially when she seemingly cares little for anyone person as seem by her frequently switching from one partner to the next even when she is supposedly married it does little to slow her down with such scenes certainly benefiting from the insight that only she could provide, to explain if this her trying to work out the frustration of her stalled career or if she just enjoys living by her own rules.

Needless to say when it comes to listing Wes Anderson's memorable creations, it is impossible not to include Margot and even though he continues to add new and ever more curious characters to the list, Margot forever remains one of my favourites and one more than worthy of her own spin off, which if not for the reasons stated atleast to see Paltrow don the iconic look once more.

The One I Would Save: Cpl Ferro (Aliens)

Recently Bryce over at “Things That Don’t Suck” wrote a great piece on why he would have saved Cheryl from “The Evil Dead”, who he rightfully points out probably didn’t get the greatest deal, when it came to horror victims seeing how she is not only raped by the trees surrounding the cabin, but also possessed by a demon, thrown in a fire, dumped in the cellar, before escaping and receiving further punishment as she is stabbed and shot, before finally exploding in a mixture of stop motion animation and pie filling.
Still when it comes to saving any character, for myself it will always boil down to one character time and time again and that person is the ice cool drop ship pilot Cpl. Mira Ferro in “Aliens” (1986).

“Aliens” is not only a great sequel to Ridley Scott’s classic original film “Alien” (1979), but manages to bring another great cast of characters in the form of the Colonial marines, but unlike so many other films these marines are more than just alien chowder, especially when director James Cameron takes the time to showcase each of their individual personalities, so even the lesser marines such as Crowe and Frost become instantly memorable, from the more standout members of the team such as the tough as nails Vasquez or cowardly Hudson.

Ferro is essentially one of the supporting marines seeing how she is the drop ship pilot, yet every scene she appears just oozes her ice cool demeanour, while giving the saga another tough female capable of standing on a level ground with even Vasquez who it appears to have a mutual respect for Ferro, which is certainly nothing to do rank, seeing how she shows a constant disregard for Lt. Gorman.
Seriously there is no moment in the film were she seems the slightest part fazed by the situation breaking out around her, as her fellow marines break under blind terror and panic, of thier first encounter with the Xenomorphs, which resulted largely in them either setting thier fellow marines ablaze, getting jumped in the dark or just basically firing at anything that moves, yet despite this she still keeps her focus with the mission at hand, which it could be argued is largely down to the fact she spends the whole of her time in the film with the drop ship, while being forced to hang out with her remedial co-pilot Spunkmeyer. Despite this when she sadly meets her end via way of a stowaway alien; she is still quick to react, by going for her pistol yet proving sadly a little to slow for the speedy Xenomorph.

Maybe I’m a little biased with my obsession with this character, seeing how she is after all played by the very lovely Collette Hiller, (who from what I have heard from those lucky SOBS who have caught her, on one of her rare convention appearances have told me) but Ferro remains a great character, who perhaps I wish had lasted just a little longer than she did and it’s kind of frustrating that she is not listed as one of the top choices when it comes to naming favourite marines, with most of the fanboy and girls more likely to name Hicks or Hudson as their favourite, though if I could save any character it would without a doubt be her.