Review of Rushmore (1998) by Charles G — 17 Jan 2014

I simply had to see this 1998 comedy-drama directed by Wes Anderson about an eccentric teenager named Max Fischer (Jason Schwartzman in his first film), his friendship with rich industrialist Herman Blume (Bill Murray), and their mutual love for elementary school teacher Rosemary Cross (Olivia Williams). Somehow I missed it at the time (my life was crazy while I lived in Canberra) but after watching it today, I think that if I watched it at the time, I would love this piece co-written by Anderson and Owen Wilson. And I loved the music - the soundtrack was scored by regular Anderson collaborator Mark Mothersbaugh and features several songs by bands associated with the British Invasion of the 1960s.

With this movie the careers of Anderson and Schwartzman were launched, while Bill Murray established a "second career" - as a respected actor of independent cinema. I liked his acting in this movie but I like Wes Anderson work even better. They both won Best Director and Best Supporting Male awards at the 1999 Independent Spirit Awards while Murray earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture. Anderson and Wilson wrote the role of Mr. Blume with Bill Murray in mind, but doubted they could get the script to him. Luckily, Murray's agent was a fan of Anderson's first film, Bottle Rocket, and urged the actor to read the script for Rushmore. Murray liked it so much that he agreed to work for scale, which Anderson estimated to be around $9,000. Murray liked the neat and precise writing and felt that a lot of the film was about the struggle to retain civility and kindness in the face of extraordinary pain. And he stated that he felt a lot of that in his life. Anderson created detailed storyboards for each scene but was open to Murray's knack for improvisation, and that is how the winning formula worked.

According to ShortList, it is one of the 30 coolest films ever... but, I really had a problem with the unconvincing make up and costumes through the first two thirds of the movie, especially for the main character. Well, nothing is perfect... it is important that Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson successfully created their own slightly heightened reality... Like Max Fischer, Wilson was expelled from his prep school, St. Mark's School of Texas, in the tenth grade, while Anderson shared Max's ambition, lack of academic ability, and had a crush on an older woman ( just for record - Anderson and Wilson began writing the screenplay for Rushmore years before they made Bottle Rocket). For both of them the thing that was most appealing was the initial idea of a 15-year-old kid and a 50-year-old man becoming friends and equals.

Maybe it's time for you, like it was for me, to check out this artwork with deep-focus widescreen compositions possessing an unusual clarity that adds details enhancing plenty of the action constantly developing and adding vividness to be remembered. Enjoy the humour as well!