Rushmore

Earning critical acclaim and commercial success upon its 1998 release, Rushmorethe sophomore film of American auteur Wes Andersonquickly gained the status of a cult classic. A melancholic coming-of-age story wrapped in comedy drama, Rushmore focuses on the efforts of Max Fischer (Jason Schwartzman)a brazen and precocious fifteen-year-oldto find his way. Restless, energetic, struggling, and overcompensating for his insecurities, Max pursues a dizzying range of possible futures, leading him into the orbit of local steel magnate Herman Blume (Bill Murray), elementary school teacher Rosemary Cross (Olivia Williams), and a host of cooperative schoolmates who help him to stage lavish film-derivative plays. Kristi McKims compelling study of the film argues that despite the films titular call for haste and excess (rush/more), it challenges a drive toward perfectionism and celebrates the quiet connections that defy such passion and speed. After establishing Rushmores history and reception, McKim closely reads Rushmores energetic musical montages relative to slower moments that introduce tenderness and ambiguity, in a form subtler than Maxs desire-built drive or genre-based plays. Her analysis offers an urgent corrective to what might be perceived as an endearing portrait of privilege that perpetuates a status quo power. Drawing out Rushmores subtleties that soften, temper, ease, expand, and equalize the films zeal, she reads the film with a generosity learned from the film itself.