While there are several themes dealing with adolescence in Wes Anderson's 1998 film Rushmore, the central theme is that of the outsider, part of and yet apart from the upper class society into which he was not born, but strives to belong. Although the main character is 15-year old Max, the character of Herman Blume is equally significant in depicting the theme of the film.
A Vietnam Vet (the subtext of the character), a self-made millionaire steel magnate, Blume has achieved the American Dream of success and it has brought him sorrow, not happiness. Hating his twin sons, wife and lifestyle, Blume feels like an alien in the world he has built for his family. The scene under consideration in this essay pictures the despair and pain of the outsider.
Shot without dialogue, except for some ambient background conversation, the scene depends entirely on the director's style, the cinematography, and the actor's expressiveness. The setting is the pool area of the Blume home on the afternoon of the twins' birthday party. Blume sits alone, drinking whiskey, absently tossing golf balls into the pool one at a time, illustrating his boredom and alienation. He notices his wife flirting with a young tennis pro, but she just gives Blume a cold look. Blume gets up, shakes hands with a man who gives him a shove toward the pool, but hangs on to him to prevent him from falling in. Blume, however, climbs the ladder to the high dive, and does a cannon-ball into the pool, cigarette hanging from his mouth. Lying at the bottom of the pool as if dead, a little boy swims to see if Blume is dead, disturbing Blume. Their eyes meet and the boy turns and swims away.
The film in general is made up mainly of short scenes, with long scenes and close-ups saved for meaningful scenes like the pool scene. When Blume dives into the pool, the camera holds on him, revealing an exhausted, melancholy man vividly illustrated by Bill Murray as Blume. The colors are som...