Wednesday, February 15, 2006
Rushing for more
This past weekend I watched Rushmore again. I enjoyed the movie and think the director, Wes Anderson (he also directed the Royal Tannenbaums), very talented. In addition to his quirky style, he has great comic timing. Not buffonish. His comedy relies on timing and presenting the unexpected. He also has a great ear for music.
However, at many points during the movie, when characters were going through a particularly emotional moment, the soundtrack would erupt at the point when the character would express him or herself and then cut away, leaving the viewer to experience the character's emotions via the music. Although the first few times were effective, I later found myself wanting more from the otherwise emotionally stagnant characters because it was an excellent cast, and when they were allowed to express their characters' feelings, they created wonderful scenes.
My favorite example was when Bill Murray's character shows up at the door of the main love interest. Having fallen for her, he makes up a silly excuse as to why he's appeared that both know is a lie. But the love interest doesn't react negatively. She stares down at her plate of carrots, smiling, and then looks up to him and offers him one. Bill Murray deadpans yes, he would, and then takes a step forward to take one off of her plate. It's a great scene imbued with the kind of nervous energy that makes falling in love so fantastic and memorable. I wish Wes Anderson had given us more of those scenes and less cutaways to effective but easy music segways because after awhile it felt like I was watching MTV (back when they showed music videos). In other words, a little less Wes Anderson and a little more acting from his cast.
However, at many points during the movie, when characters were going through a particularly emotional moment, the soundtrack would erupt at the point when the character would express him or herself and then cut away, leaving the viewer to experience the character's emotions via the music. Although the first few times were effective, I later found myself wanting more from the otherwise emotionally stagnant characters because it was an excellent cast, and when they were allowed to express their characters' feelings, they created wonderful scenes.
My favorite example was when Bill Murray's character shows up at the door of the main love interest. Having fallen for her, he makes up a silly excuse as to why he's appeared that both know is a lie. But the love interest doesn't react negatively. She stares down at her plate of carrots, smiling, and then looks up to him and offers him one. Bill Murray deadpans yes, he would, and then takes a step forward to take one off of her plate. It's a great scene imbued with the kind of nervous energy that makes falling in love so fantastic and memorable. I wish Wes Anderson had given us more of those scenes and less cutaways to effective but easy music segways because after awhile it felt like I was watching MTV (back when they showed music videos). In other words, a little less Wes Anderson and a little more acting from his cast.
