Review of Rushmore (1998) by Kilo D — 09 Oct 2012

Wes Anderson's first masterpiece, "Rushmore", is a charming, clever, and comedic work of near perfection.

There's a lot that separates "Rushmore" from other movies of its ilk: the performances from the young actors, especially Mr. Schwartzman, are astounding; the story of what people will go through and do for love has never been captured with such a freshness, cleverness, and style that is wholly Mr. Anderson's (yes, the French New Wavers are present) as is seen in "Rushmore" with its wonderful musical scenes that are mere dessert to an already accomplished movie; the script, from Owen Wilson and Wes Anderson, provides well-crafted characters we care about no matter what transpires, witty dialogue that has some Allen influence, and plenty of unconventional internal references; the cinematography from Mr. Yeomen is, as always, something of a wonder - in the case of working with Mr. Anderson, the style is of bold, saturated colours, dolly shots, precisely framed and unusual vantage points, and of course the famous slow-motion sequences which spark a smile on the most hardened of viewers; and, finally, there's Bill Murray in a knock-out, pitch-perfect performance playing a portrait of a cheated-on, forlorn, debauched, and deeply lionized, by Max (Jason Schwartzman), figure for what at first appears to be a good reason:

'Now, for some of you it doesn't matter. You were born rich and you're going to stay rich. But here's my advice to the rest of you: Take dead aim on the rich boys. Get them in the crosshairs and take them down. Just remember, they can buy anything but they can't buy backbone. Don't let them forget it. Thank you.'.

There's a large following for "Rushmore" and its ardent fans can be distressing, however that is nothing when a movie can run one's emotions around on a beautiful ride for ninety-plus minutes and be technically inspired and inspiring and that movie - a classic - is "Rushmore", which deserves to be seen over-and-over again.