Rushmore

viewed March 8, 2000 on laserdisc

For full information about this film, click here

I was fairly dismissive with this film in my first review, but for some reason I decided to buy it during a laser disc clearance sale.  I had thought the film to be often pointless and meandering, but something about the film in my memory struck me as unique ­ especially after having watched Election, whose satire and understanding of school life was sharp but lingered less in the mind.  Watching Rushmore on widescreen laser disc made an immediate difference ­ this time I really noticed the brilliant use of colored velvety curtains to introduce each “chapter” of the story.  And the look of the film is just superb ­ autumn and winter shadings cover the scenes in a melancholy but warm way; very prep school.  More impressive is the basic goodheartedness of the film and each of the characters, each of whom is a child desperately trying to play grown-up.  As children they do have a purity to their motivations, and as children that purity is fragile when mistreated.  Thus the middle dark period of the film, when Max and Herman go at it with each other, makes more sense when seeing it as two spiteful, wounded children.  

The childishness is what I cherished this time around because it reflected my own vulnerable, still not-quite-mature state of being.  I had just come back from a wasted day trying to get my movie out of a G3, having taken the day off work only to stand around helpless in a junior college media lab, thinking violent thoughts on an unfed stomach.  I found soulmates of frustration and absurdity at Rushmore, but the real value was the underlying kindness of the characters, that really warmed me and made me feel less alienated by my losses of the day. 

But mixing beautifully with this kindness is the shadow of darkness, from start to finish ­ each of the three main characters seem to have a kind of wound from the past they are nursing.  With Max it’s his late mother and humble origins, with Herman it’s Vietnam, with Miss Cross it’s her late husband.  Even Max’s protégé apparently is missing a father, which may be why he is so loyal to Max.  It’s the darkness of childhood, broken homes and untimely incidents at a tender age.  Each of the characters has it, the whole movie has it, but what’s amazing about the movie is that it, like a foster parent sent from heaven, remains incredibly sensitive to its characters’ hardships and manages to preserve a spirit of juvenile optimism and flippancy to each daunting situation. 

Although I still don’t think the ending makes complete sense, it really has its heart in the right place.  Max goes all out to create an event that brings everyone together, including his worst enemies.  The result is a messy, feel-good commingling of souls that does work, depending on whether you want to be as kind to it as it is kind to everyone. 

Reviews:

Salon.com

San Francisco Examiner

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