Rushmore (1998)
I want to give more of Wes Anderson’s films a chance since I liked Asteroid City, but haven’t found the spark yet. At least not in this earlier film of his. His style is not so apparent here yet (it looks more or less like a normal movie so to speak), but many other things are very much recognizable. The precise framing in the camerawork, the deadpan humor and the use of a fictional play within the film for that extra meta level.
There is just so much that frankly annoys the hell out of me here. I guess Max is meant to be an insufferable immature child, but when the script revolves around him it becomes a hard watch. Most of the humor did nothing for me, and for the love of everything - enough with the music montages! But beneath all the stuff I hate, there is actually an interesting story hidden somewhere about Max. He is clearly immature, but also very talented and ambitious - in everything other than what he gets grades in. The school is his life, except the actual classes - which speaks to questions about what really matters when you are 15 and school makes up most of your life. What skills (professional and personal) are needed for actual growth. Though that went basically nowhere in this film.
Rating: 2