In this sequence for the movie “Royal Tenenbaums”, the character Richie Tenenbaums goes to the bathroom to shave himself. The use of jump cuts in this sequence is necessary both visually and timely. Shaving is usually something that is considered to be a monotonous task and can take a while. In order to show the impact of the character’s physical transformation while keeping the audience engaged and not bored, the use of jump cuts were implemented to suggest the passage of time as Richie shaves himself.
I totally agree with you about how the editor utilized the style of editing to create that sense of monotony with the task of shaving. It shows that shaving carefully and with all of that hair, takes time. I also agree with you on how it shows how time has passed and is implemented to keep the audience’s attention. In addition, to Richie Tenenbaum’s transformation, the music also anticipated how Richie felt about his life deep inside his soul. The audience can tell from his dull, depressed facial expression that he doesn’t feel happy about his new look. The action of Richie cutting off his beard and giving himself a new haircut is a foreshadow of him cutting himself in his arms. It was the anticipation of his death wish.