20/04/2012: Rushmore [1998]

Wes  Anderson is a name I have only recently discovered, although I had already seen The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou and The Royal Tenenbaums. So after realizing who he was I decided to check out his second feature film and earlier work, Rushmore.






Now, if you've ever watched a Wes Anderson film you will no three things. One, he is close friends with the Wilson brothers, who both act in and help write a most of his movies. Two, he has a nack for creating the most strange and awkward characters and Three, that you will love and care for those characters regardless of their imperfections or weirdness. His films are truly works of art and are ones everyone should see, a statement backed by the fact that 5 of his films are part of The Criterion Collection. After seeing Rushmore, I know that I will quickly seek out to see the remainder of his works, as they will all be undoubtedly amazing,

But on to Rushmore, a film about Max Fischer, the king of Rushmore prep school and his adventure. First, Rushmore undoubtedly scores major points for being the film that put Jason Schwartzman on the map, and discovered him all in one outstanding performance.  Schwartzman plays Max Fischer, a 15 year old boy who is attending Rushmore on scholarship. Max is involved in every extra-curricular activity imaginable, and was the founder of many of them. His whole reason for living is Rushmore, and yet do to his failing grades, he is placed on academic probation.

From hotel room servant to beekeeping, Max does it all.

To complement Schwarrzman's amazing performances is Olivia Williams and Bill Murray, who both are excellent in the movie. All of the characters are imperfect and some a little wacky, but all of them feel greatly human, and that is how Anderson get us to feel so deeply with his films. Rushmore is a deep drama, and while the first half of the movie feels like almost nothing will go wrong, it undoubtedly does. However even when things get dark and problems arise, I still felt happy, and rooted for the characters, knowing that, while things will work out, there is no possibility of everything working out perfectly.

Rushmore is filled with a lot of light-hearted and not so immature humour, and this complements the entire movie so perfectly, that everything feels natural. I think that it is very hard to describe just how you feel when watching Rushmore, and I'm sure everyone has a different experience. While Rushmore is generally well liked, there are those who aren't such fans, although for the most part they all want to be. I think that is the mark of a good movie, sure you may not particularly like that kind of movie, nor identify with it in any way, but if you can still acknowledge how great it is and want to like it, then the filmmaker truly achieved a great film.

I have never heard of a phone pass, but I never went to a school with hall passes either.

I don't want to get to much into Rushmore's plot, and there is only so much I can say to convey how much I think this film is a cinematic masterpiece. I will definitely be going to check out Bottle Rocket and The Darjeeling Limited, as well of Moonrise Kingdom when it releases. All I can say is, whatever you do, don't go on without having watched at least two Wes Anderson movies, after that, if you're still not craving another, then you can safely decide they aren't for you.

Also the play within a movie was awesome.

Link:
Rushmore IMDb