Vimeo of the Day: An analysis of Wes Anderson's Rushmore

By Michael J.W. Stickings

I'm not a huge Wes Anderson fan. His films have an undeniable distinctiveness to them, and they're always rather beautiful, but I generally find his work overly mannered, pretentious, and, a word one often finds associated with him, precious, the worlds and characters he creates, while often amusing, way too quirky and eccentric for their own good. Yes, his compositions are remarkable, the care and attention he gives to each shot almost Ozu-like (a huge compliment, from me), and you can get lost, pleasurably so, in the details, but the films of which they are a part are often as annoying as they are rewarding.

And yet there's one film he's made that I consider truly great and truly a masterpiece, one that to me stands well above The Royal Tenenbaums, Fantastic Mr. Fox, and Moonrise Kingdom (all in the next tier down, the ones I also like, or at least find tolerable). And that film, of course, is Rushmore.

Here's a wonderful video about Rushmore, with some poignant analysis, adapted from the book The Wes Anderson Collection by Matt Zoller Seitz. It will make you appreciate the film even more, and inspire you to watch it again (and again). And if you've never seen it... seriously, come on.

THE WES ANDERSON COLLECTION CHAPTER 2: RUSHMORE from RogerEbert.com on Vimeo.