Rushmore

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Rushmore, the second film of Wes Anderson, won immediate critical and commercial success on its release in 1998, and quickly gained the status of a cult classic. A melancholic coming-of-age story wrapped in a comedy drama, Rushmore tells the story of Max (Jason Schwartzman), a nerdy misfit at an elite private school, whose drive to excel in a bewildering range of extra-curricular activities brings him into the orbit of local factory owner Blume (Bill Murray), who becomes first his friend and then his rival for the affections of his teacher, Ms Cross (Olivia Williams). Kristi McKim's compelling study of the film begins with an account of the film's reception, its impact on the careers of its director and stars, and its place in the unfolding story of American independent film-making. McKim moves on to consider the parallels between Max's self-righteous, selfish and perfectionist pursuit of his passions - whether to save Latin, to build an aquarium, to put on a high school production of Apocalypse Now, or to seduce Ms Cross - and Wes Anderson's own obsessive artistic ambition, evidenced in his desire to exercise total control over the miniature cinematic universes he creates. But, McKim suggests, the urgency with which Max seeks to enact his schemes is balanced by 'transcendent moments' of stillness, empathy and a quiet connection between the characters that give the film its emotional power. Finally, McKim highlights Rushmore both as an expression of a conservative and nostalgic cinephilia that encodes a white and male film canon, and itself the object of passionate adoration by its many fans. She argues that the film can be both loved and critiqued, recognising the complication of a film that both wears its privilege, Max-like, on its sleeve and suggests a gentler, more vulnerable, and more tender mode of compassion.