Rushmore (1998)
Watching Rushmore while celebrating its 25th anniversary at the location it was filmed (St. John’s School in Houston, TX) amongst some of the cast in the film was a rather unique experience to say the least. The energy of the theatre was different. The gentleman in the seat next to me whispered to his peers with sentences that began with, “remember when…” as they watched themselves in the film. It was a full house that was highly-engaged and enjoying Wes’ love letter to Houston to the upmost capacity.
This film reminded me of Picasso’s progression when I saw it - let me explain. Wes’ signature play with maturity: children acting as adults and adults acting as children was on full display. This felt like what was mastered in Moonrise Kingdom. Much like Moonrise Kingdom (among other films) Wes brings in actors that become part of his casting rotation (Bill Murray, Jason Schwartzman). Another common theme that popped up was the propensity for the main character to transform the primary storyline of tragedy to one of comedy. Max (Schwartzman) finds a way - and shares some his youthful light with the dulling Mr. Blume (Murray). There always has to be some side quest that interferes with the primary goal in an Anderson film (in this case, Max’s partnership with Mr. Blume eventually leading to an unfortunate betrayal. Max is forced to become the redemptive character). Seeds of Wes’ later habits began to spring up - for example, his quick progression and visual storytelling of characters’ backgrounds through brief, visually-funny, near-symmetrical And pretty scenes. This film also highlighted the city Wes (and I) grew up in: Houston. There were brief moments when you could recognize the beauty of the city; however, what became more noticeable was the engravings of an early Anderson-type-shot. Without an overwhelming amount of symmetry and out-of-place color, this movie felt more genuine and story-driven than his others; however, this is the point I’m making with his progression: story is solid, the film looks great, the themes are there, and you can see how more of his latest works twist the meaning or visual storytelling in a way that resembles how Picasso went from creating traditional masterpieces to more abstract art.
I was asking for a coming-of-age high school film and I received just that and some. I came into this movie as a fan of a majority of the other films Wes has created, but unfortunately this one evaded my radar. I’m kicking myself thinking of how much of an impact this would’ve had on my middle school to high school self. C’est la vie. Much like Max, we must move on and embrace each day to the extreme (maybe without failing all pertinent subjects).
