On your Blog, write a short review of Harold and Maude. Address your feelings about the movie in terms of the main characters (Harold, Maude, Harold's Mother, Harold's Uncle, Harold's Psychiatrist), the production(Sets, soundtrack, editing, pacing) and the story.
I can see why this film is a cult classic. It has very interesting parts at times, but sometimes I’m bored out of my mind. The acting is nice, but I did not like the pacing of the movie. Harold and Maude didn’t actually fall in love until the 3rd quarter of the film, and Maude’s death is very sudden (Although I really like the cut after the scene in which Maude reveals she’s going to die that night… it was gorgeous). Harold’s character is a rare one, but I’ve seen used before (monotone, loves death, etc.), but I really like that Harold does break down multiple times in the movie. Those moments show that he’s human. Although it’s disgusting, I love how he feels about his mother. He has reasons to hate his mother, and his talk with Maude about the first time he pulled a suicide prank reveals exactly why he hates her. Maude is a clear contrast to Harold, in that Harold is young and represents death, and Maude is old and represents life. I hate that she doesn’t talk about her past more, and what lead her to be so carefree. I feel like it’s sort of cliché that they fall in love in the end, and that they only made Maude old to get shock factor (which equals more people coming to watch the film, which equals more money). I also feel that with Maude and Harold, one character was made after the other in order to specifically contrast each other and fall in love (opposites attract!). Harold’s mother is the main antagonist of this story. She is a person looking for attention in everything she does, and she wants to makes sure her voice is heard. She’s the type of person to drug her child then act as if they were sick, getting praise and attention for taking care of him, etc. She makes most of Harold’s decisions for him, because Harold is a submissive character. Most of her decisions would benefit herself, and she seems to care more about herself than Harold (Getting Harold a girlfriend would result in grandchildren, filling out the dating personality form to her liking would result in getting a girl that she would like, etc.). Harold’s uncle is portrayed as an authoritarian figure, and most authoritarian figures in this film are portrayed as not fit for their jobs (given that it was made in the 70’s, a time of political uprising). I would say that he is the second main antagonist to Harold in this story. He is still trying his best, though, and he seems to think a little more of Harold than his mother does. Harold’s Psychiatrist doesn’t have any emotional connection to Harold, and no matter how hard he tries to delve into Harold’s mind, he never succeeds. The psychiatrist is just trying to do his job, and Harold is actively refusing his help and ridiculing him in the process. The sets were realistic and good enough. I liked the contrast between Maude’s small, messy cottage and Harold’s large, clean mansion. The soundtrack was good at times, but it suddenly stopped sometimes and that itself is a bit jarring. Part of me wishes that this movie was made more recently, as I can think of some songs that would go a lot better with the movie than the limited selection they had then. The editing was okay, but there were some sudden, jarring cuts that took me out of the movie. I’ve said this before, but I didn’t prefer the pacing at all. The story was a bit predictable, not to say that it was bad. I did like some quirks in it (Harold’s elaborate suicides, Harold and Maude’s funeral hobbies, Maude’s “borrowing” of cars), but without those quirks it may have been a very boring story. I’m surprised and a bit angered that this movie has a PG rating. Maybe the producers were scared that people wouldn’t come to it if it was a PG-13 movie? I feel like they should have made it longer, and added more scenes of Harold and Maude’s relationship to make the pacing slower, even if it made the movie PG-13. One thing that I would like to point out is the very last scene. When the hearse went over the edge of the cliff, I was furious. Harold wasted his life all because of his first love, and he can’t go on without her? That’s pretty dumb. I was so relieved when it was revealed that he didn’t die after all.
All in all, the movie had some flaws and things that I would have done better, but I would watch it again, looking for hints and Easter eggs that would reveal more about the characters and movie.
3/5
