RUSHMORE

Spolight on Wes Anderson

 Wes Anderson’s smart, refreshing picture is all about Max Fischer (Jason Schwartzman), who is in the tenth grade. He runs the ambitious theatre group; he hangs out with Mr. Blume (Bill Murray), the father of a friend; and falls in love with a teacher, Miss Cross (Olivia Williams). All is well until Blume, too, falls in love with Miss Cross; from here on, Max’s world starts to come apart at the seams. The whole movie marks the triumph of the deadpan. Schwartzman is stubbornly optimistic, while Murray is possessed by the mania of near-despair. They make the best odd couple that American movies have produced in a long while. Anderson finds the ideal comic rhythm for all this—it’s a mature riff on the absurdity of growing up. –The New Yorker