Harold and Maude Reviews

You can look at me like I’m crazy all you want, but I find Harold and Maude to be an utterly charming picture of unconventional love. Granted, it’s unconventional love story is really a device used to tell us that life is worth living, and to do what makes you happy while you’re living it. How anyone could not be completely charmed by this strangely whimsical story of a young death obsessed boy and an elderly woman with a lust for life?

Director Hal Ashby and writer Colin Higgins are non-judgmental in presenting both of these individuals and exploring their relationship together. Essentially presenting a generational conflict and finding the ones in power to be suffering from a type of emotional malaise. Harold may be obsessed with death and prone to theatrical displays of this obsession, but at least he isn’t his mother so enamored and slavish to bourgeois comforts.

Our empathy lies perfectly square with Harold and Maude, a yin and yang if there ever was one. And much of the genius lies in the casting of Bud Cort and Ruth Gordon. Cort’s wide-eyed stare perfectly encapsulates the winking suicidal tendencies of Harold. Even when smiling, which is only in brief moments, Cort appears to be frowning internally, and constantly appears to be marching towards an unseen funeral. Whereas Ruth Gordon, who quietly steals the movie which is only fitting given her character is a kleptomaniac, is pure energy and sunny disposition. Here is woman who can stare life and/or death in the face, and greet it with a big smile.

The two of them meet up while crashing a funeral, and their strange friendship blossoms from there, slowing turning from a meeting of kindred spirits and polar opposites, at the same time. There human connection is the very heart of the film, underscored by Cat Stevens score. A collection of pop songs which work in much the same way as a regular orchestral score would, Stevens uses his pop songs to underline the drama, or to add some levity to an otherwise macabre world.

While the world of Harold and Maude may be a strange one, there is still a shimmering innocence and sense of hope, a longing to make a connection. This idealism is what I think makes the movie so lasting as a cult film. Here is a film which doesn’t judge its two characters, and even presents them as the happiest and most normal person in the entire thing. Harold’s mother is obsessed with him repeating the process of marriage and middle-class domesticity, and his series of dates frequently culminate him staging a new bizarre death and his mother’s indifference to his neurosis, viewing it more as a nuisance than anything else. Ashby clearly wants us to understand that this lifestyle isn’t for Harold, maybe it isn’t even for you, and that’s fine. This is a fable of love and death which tells us happiness is a personal thing, and however you chose to define it is something worth fighting for.

Harold: "I like you, Maude."
Maude: "I like you, Harold."

Harold and Maude is an outstanding black comedy that reminds audiences the reason why films exist. In short, films exist to tell a story: a potent tale of characters who encounter a series of events that unfold during the film's running time. More importantly, films are worthwhile when they actually have a valuable message.

Harold and Maude has a meaningful message about taking advantage of life while you are still on this Earth. It also delivers the poignant message that age is no issue when it comes to relationships. These messages are rife and abundant in the form of this short, cult classic black comedy that is still regarded as one of the best films of all time.

20-year-old Harold Chasen (Cort) is a morbid young man with an affluent background who is obsessed with death - specifically suicide. Ever since Harold was reportedly killed in a chemistry lab accident at school and after subsequently witnessing his mother's priceless reaction, he concluded that it's more interesting to be dead than alive. When Harold is not staging elaborate phony suicide attempts he frequently attends the funerals of people he never knew. His mother (Pickles) attempts to break Harold of this unnatural obsession by sending him to a psychiatrist and hooking him up with young ladies. However this just encourages him to stage more phony suicides. Things look pretty hopeless for Harold...

Enter Maude (Gordon): an elderly 79-year-old woman who is soon going on 80. Maude tries to get Harold out of his shell and persuades him to enjoy life. To do this, Maude includes Harold in her never-ending string of lunatic adventures. Harold and Maude strike up an unusual friendship and as time passes by the fixation that Harold has with death gradually initiates a change into a thirst for life.

It has been several decades since Harold and Maude was initially released. Time has been very kind to this film; instead of its appeal disappearing it actually heightens with each year and each new screening. The film is indescribably charming and appealing. This black comedy will always remain basically unmatched. Interestingly, now that I've seen the film I envy those that have not seen it. I would do anything to travel back in time and watch it for the first time once again. What does this indicate? Quite simply: films containing this appeal and ingenuity are few and far between in this day and age. With Hollywood continuously forgetting the meaning of filmmaking and instead releasing a countless number of movies for money, it's relieving to revisit classics like this from the golden age of Hollywood. Harold and Maude holds up despite its age. In a sense it has a wonderful period flavour: featuring clothes and traditions of the time. Because of all these facts, the film is simply timeless.

Upon first release, critics did not like the performance from Bud Cort. They described him as simply flat. However it seems they have missed the whole point of the character: Harold is morbid, flat and dreary. His macabre nature is captured wonderfully by Cort. Ruth Gordon is best remembered for her Oscar-winning performance in Roman Polanski's 1968 film Rosemary's Baby. In this black comedy, Ruth is absolutely fabulous. She seems warm and friendly. Scenes featuring Bud and Ruth are sizzling. The chemistry between them in particular is insurmountable. Whenever the two actors are exchanging lines there's a gold-mine of witty dialogue brought to life with wonderful performances.

Overall, Harold and Maude is one of history's finest black comedies. Many filmmakers have tried, but the brilliance and originality of this magnificent cult classic remains fundamentally unmatched. The film is brilliant because it's atmospheric, grim and entertaining. Its appeal cannot be accurately described in words. The film is fun and frequently hilarious. Harold's phony suicide attempts are particularly hilarious! I heartily and emphatically recommend this movie!

9.2/10