Review of Rushmore (1998) by Spencer S — 22 Jan 2011

Unlike many of Wes Anderson's films in terms of content. He still uses methods of close captioning, odd dialouge and characters, and cooky storylines, but instead of dealing with a tangled web of ensemble, it dealt with the singular case of Max and his obsession with finding a purpose larger than himself.

A common theme in Anderson's work includes becoming a social pariah, or generally being rude. This film, made before some of Anderson's more well known work, seems more like a preemptive strike, delving deeper into a character study than ever before.

Great performances by Murray, Schwartzman, Williams, and Cox. Max's relationship with Blume (Murray) is reminescent of Harold and Maude, and that great ending embodies this assertion.