With this, I've finally finished Wes Anderson's current filmography, and my initial feeling is that Rushmore is the most complete film of the lot. Although some of its events are much more fantastical than anything in Bottle Rocket, The Royal Tenenbaums, or The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, never the less, Rushmore is more believable. The characters' development arcs are more pronounced and complete. There is a stronger sense of closure than in Anderson's other works. It much easier to relate to the teenage sexual coming of age and mid-life relationship troubles in Rushmore than the criminal works in Bottle Rocket, the chaotic family of Tenenbaums, or the sea adventures of Life Aquatic. The trinketized mise-en-scene serves a purpose. While Tenenbaum's game closet is interesting, what end does it serve? Meanwhile in Rushmore, Rosemary's fleshed out classroom provides a spark for one of Max's projects.

None of these alone elevate Rushmore above Anderson's other films, and indeed, even all of them doesn't ensure that Rushmore would stand atop the others. Rather, the clarity with which these facets were realized is what sets Rushmore apart. It's not just the bullet points that makes it stand out, it's that Rushmore is just a better crafted work in total.

After the emotional Blue, Three Colors: White is a complete change of gears into light comedy. Most jarringly, especially watching it shortly after Blue, is that White doesn't show it's true colors until quite late in the movie. Even without the baggage of being part of Kieslowski's trilogy, this q-ship comedy stays under the radar long enough that the ending feels fresh rather than predictable.