Rushmore - 1998
Rating - 15
Runtime - 93 mins
Director - Wes Anderson
Written by - Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson
Starring - Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, Olivia Williams, Seymour Cassel
Rushmore is a 1998 dark comedy-drama film directed by American filmmaker Wes Anderson, known for his unique and detailed style seen in works including The Royal Tenenbaums, Fantastic Mr Fox, and The Grand Budapest Hotel.
The story is about 15-year-old playwright Max Fischer (Jason Schwartzman), a clever but selfish young playwright who has a scholarship at the private school Rushmore Academy in Cleveland, Ohio. Max’s problem is he fails to study, spending his time focusing on the countless amount of extracurricular clubs and societies he runs or is a member of, and because of which, he faces expulsion from Rushmore. He meets and befriends businessman Herman Blume (Bill Murray) and Rushmore’s first-grade teacher Rosemary Cross. Max and Blume’s friendship is at risk when they both fall in love with Miss Cross, which leads to pressure between the three of them and for Max’s life to slowly fall apart.
The film’s star, Jason Schwartzman, was only 18 when the film was released and he and Anderson have collaborated on six movies since Rushmore, with Schwartzman appearing in all of these and co-writing several as well. Along with Jason Schwartzman: Owen Wilson and Bill Murray have also become long time collaborators with the director, all of whom feature in Anderson’s newest feature ‘The French Dispatch’. Owen Wilson wrote Rushmore with Anderson, and his brothers, Andrew and Luke, appear on screen in minor roles. The late Seymour Cassel played Max’s father Bert Fischer and Scottish actor Brian Cox appears as Rushmore professor Dr Guggenheim.
This was Wes Anderson’s second film in the directors chair, following 1996’s Bottle Rocket, starring Owen and Luke Wilson. This is a major improvement from his directorial debut and cemented Anderson’s iconic and particular style of filmmaking. Paired with the cinematography from Robert Yeoman - symmetry, simplistic backgrounds and rapid camera movement would all become staples in the artistic style of Wes Anderson’s movies, the beginnings of which are seen in Rushmore.
The script is smart, witty, charismatic and somewhat dark, making for a deeply human coming-of-age story full of heart and emotion, presenting the difficulties of adolescence in a slightly heightened manner. Max has a satisfying character arc throughout the story. He goes from being an ignorant but enthusiastic false academic who takes the opportunities he is given and his situation for granted, and develops into a more understanding, mature person who has realised and learned from his mistakes and experiences. The film also has an amazing classic rock soundtrack, including The Who, Donovan, The Kinks, The Rolling Stones and The Faces.
Though I evidently do love the movie, I found that my interest waned during my first viewing, though most of Wes Anderson’s movies are naturally better after a rewatch. The movie has its weak points like any other, but definitely makes up for it with everything else to make what i’d call a near perfectly structured movie. Despite all its flaws, Rushmore is an important landmark in Anderson’s growth as a filmmaker and is still significant over 20 years later.
Score - 8/10
Rushmore is available to stream on Disney+.
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