Kelly A
Hal Ashby's Harold and Maude is without a doubt one of the most bizarre films I've ever seen. It immediately puts the viewer outside of their comfort zone. The movie essentially revolves around the relationship of the two protagonists, the morbid, death obsessed Harold and the old, free spirited Maude. Okay, let's just say their relationship is disturbing and repugnant when considered at face value. But beyond its strangeness, it does carry a deeper intent that I think is worthy to be unpacked.
Ashby tells an unconventional love story to shock people. The dynamics of their relationship reflect how marriage between two different ages is basically perceived as scandalous in society and can be said to show how same sex couples were viewed during the period. Their bond, strange as it is, encourages us instead to look at ourselves and ask why it is that some relationships make us uncomfortable but others are acceptable.
Much as I remain skeptical about the relationship, I now appreciate the fact that there is a bigger story beyond it. The zest Maude has for living and a rejection of societal rules certainly gives a bright energetic cast to the film with Harold's morbid fascination providing stark contrast that changes as they get involved with one another.
It is not a comfortable movie to be with, and I won't pretend it worked altogether for me. But I can appreciate the audacity and the way it merges dark humor with tender moments to deal with significant issues. Strange, yes but also evocative enough to work well beyond its end credits.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
12/20/24
Full Review
Kayla M
Harold and Maude was interesting from the start. With the first time Harold is introduced to the audience he is pretending to take his own life to gain his mother’s attention. The overall feel of the film feels gloomy but with scenes where both Harold and Maude are bonding there are usually bright warm sunlight scenes. A scene I took note of was quite early in the film as he is being told something by his mother and her skin appears as though she was very warm toned. And he was quite pale which is when I started to first see the director's intent. As Harold first gets to know Maude and she tells him “oh my, how the world still dearly loves a cage” that phrase alone tells a lot of her character. She was a person who felt changed so for that reason she wanted to set everything free including herself. Through that I feel she felt most free by releasing birds and even the tree she rescues. On some level Harold felt trapped by his personal fascination with death. I interpreted their relationship as a way of freeing each other. Their “meet cute” isn’t like others I’ve seen before, it is very unique to them which I liked. Think the overall concept of having a couple with such a large age gap is unique. I want to also mention a question I had during viewing this, “would I feel the same calmness of their age gap if the gender roles were reversed?”. Truthfully I liked the connection they displayed with one another but at first I interpreted it as affection for friendship but about half way through I finally realized it was more than that. Its normal that most find their relationship odd, including myself but I’d oddly enough would see myself watching this film again to understand it even deeper.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
12/20/24
Full Review
Avery C
Harold and Maude is easily one of the strangest movies I’ve ever seen. The story follows Harold, a wealthy but deeply depressed young man obsessed with death, who spends his days staging elaborate fake suicides to scare his mother. I remember watching this movie, looking at my phone really quick then hearing the crowd gasp which made me look up where I saw Harolds first fake suicide and my jaw dropped like “what did I miss?”. His life changes when he meets Maude, this free-spirited 79-year-old woman who lives every moment like it’s an adventure. Their friendship and eventual romance is unexpected and honestly feels so wrong to wrong for me because I’m not the fan of a big age gap. The humor in Harold and Maude is dark but clever where Harold’s fake suicides are absurdly dramatic, making them both shocking and hilarious and makes you go "Oh sh*t"! Meanwhile, Maude’s antics ike stealing cars or uprooting trees to “save” them—feel like pure chaos in the best way. The performances are perfect, and the actors suit their roles very well. This movie isn’t just weird for the sake of being weird. At its core, Harold and Maude is about finding joy and meaning in life, no matter how unconventional it looks. Maude teaches Harold (and the audience watching) that life is short, unpredictable, and worth living fully. So, yes, it’s strange, but that’s what makes it so special. Watching this movie made me very confused and it was a little hard to understand at first but I feel like I would have to watch this movie again in order to fully understand and appreciate this film and the messages it sends.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
12/19/24
Full Review
Ethan K
I already know this is going to be a movie I revisit often. I know professionals who've shunned our program for typically ignoring filmmakers like Hal Ashby, and I understand it. I am fascinated with its bizarre sense of humor, and more than complicated relationship at the center of it all. By the time it's said and done, you can't help but have your jaw on the floor and felt driven half insane. Harold begs for your words, hoping you can interfere and guide him. At least that's the sort of illusion he carries with him. Unfortunately my blatantly trite words would probably cause him to stick a pitchfork through his eyes. Harold is utterly uninterested in your help when it comes to it, likely because of his sour background and completely lack-of-loving home. That is, until Maude. Maude is different, in that she is vivaciously mischievous, and fun. Harold was unwillingly thrusted into adulthood too early, and hasn't had the opportunity to understand the unserious (or the far more serious) qualities of life that Maude seems to bask in. What individualizes Maude is her appreciation for all that she has lived, despite the countless tragedies she has undergone. They were made for each other, until they weren't. If you aren't an emotional mess after this, that's okay. It's seriously a bizarre coat of paint. I'm a mess though. I adored Harold & Maude.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
12/18/24
Full Review
Kelly B
Harold and Maude, what a beautiful movie. It does a great balancing dark humor and taboo concepts with love. Something I greatly appreciate about this movie is the genuine unconventional pairing. So often in media, we see unconventional pairs romanticized but never authentically represented. What I mean by this is that an old character is never really old, but Ruth Gordon, at the time of filming, was around 74—an older age for any character, even in today’s screenplays. This casting made all the difference, and I would hypothesize is likely the reason why it possibly didn’t do as well at the box office while at the same time is the reason that it is a cult classic. I also love how this movie builds the relationship between Harold and Maude. The way Harold and Maude initially fall in love is tender, genuine, and & non-lustful. Another extremely difficult thing to manage in the visual medium of storytelling. It seems as though most stories emphasize that there needs to be immediate attraction regardless if it’s a friends-to-lovers storyline, but in this story, it’s the way they both fall in love with each other’s souls that makes them attractive to the other. I thoroughly enjoyed this movie, and of course, as the story carries on, my heart is invested enough to get hurt. The heartbreak of this film made me immediately think of “Me Before You”, and I wonder if the original author Jojo Moyes gathered any inspiration from this movie. They have similar storylines in the way that “Me before You” also has a slow burn romance where they fall in love with each others souls, teach each other things the joys of life and in the end cannot save each other.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
12/17/24
Full Review
Alejandro E
Harold & Maude is a wonderful movie and I enjoyed it a lot. This film in my opinion should have gotten more recognition even though the sex scene was a huge wtf moment at the near end. It is a creative film and it plays with symbolism between Life and death in many aspects in the film. This film can help to teach a lesson in life especially on how you view the world in many ways. It great to have a young person 'Harold' be the one who is miserable and act old, while 'Maude' is old and lives life like she is young and has many more years to live. The film creates a wonder unification of two different people and their aspect on life to have a better understanding. When Harold wants to show his mother his deaths to spook her she is used to him doing it. Maude likes to hoard things in such a small house and is more lively for an elderly woman. When it comes to the outfits, the attitudes, and age adding to the films' tone and theme. It is a fun comedy to enjoy with friends and movie lovers, and you can get a better understanding when watching it. I certainly did when first watching, however the relationship between the two is a bit awkward and can be a bit uncomfortable to view. It can relate to people with these sort of personalities especially those who are emo and hate life. Its nice meaning behind life can be easy to understand when you look deeper into how the film portrays.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
12/15/24
Full Review
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