CTVA 215 Week 2 - Harold & Maude (1971)

There are few films more life affirming than Harold & Maude. I was actually surprised to learn that there were critics at the time who believed that this film was too bleak and depressing. I shouldn’t be surprised by this! Harold, the young man at the center of the film, spends most of its runtime trying to kill himself in various extreme ways. The film doesn’t focus on this very heavily however, instead focusing on Harold’s relationship with Maude, an old woman near the end of her life who is full of joy and disregards social norms in favor of experiencing life to the fullest. Despite seeming like polar opposites in almost every way, Harold and Maude of course grow very close with each other. 

Maude is an interesting character to me. She’s often cited as the original “manic pixie dream girl,” despite being 79 years old. Some modern audiences criticize this film, and the trope as a whole, as not giving the female characters, the “dream girls,” any agency or character other than as a free spirited woman who helps the male protagonist out of whatever rut he’s in. While this film certainly centers around Harold and is ultimately about his character arc, I think that Maude feels like a very real and fleshed out character. Hal Ashby not only focuses on her quirks, but also gives us glimpses into her backstory, giving us just enough information about her past relationships and her time in a Nazi concentration camp to have Maude feel like a realistic, three-dimensional character. People also criticize this trope for the relationships only being beneficial for the man, and I don’t think that’s true in this case. While it’s obvious that knowing Maude gives Harold an excitement and wonder about life that he didn’t have at the start of the film, Harold has a positive impact on Maude as well. She’s the same free spirit throughout the whole film, but Harold shows an interest and care towards Maude that she clearly didn’t have at the beginning, going from always being seen standing alone to going on constant adventures with Harold.

This film just makes me happy to be alive. It gives me the same optimism that Maude gives Harold. If El Topo represents the more surreal, intense side of the 60s counterculture, then Harold & Maude is the peace and love, flower power movement’s influence on film. The Cat Stevens soundtrack and lush environments much of the film is set in create an atmosphere that leaves me very happy when watching the film. I love seeing Harold & Maude grow closer, I love seeing the color slowly come back to Harold’s face as he spends his time with Maude, I love the 2 second wide shot of them running around on top of a giant, green hill. Even with Maude passing away at the end, I still love seeing how far Harold has come, driving his hearse off the side of a cliff only to reveal that he wasn’t in the car at all. He simply walks away with his banjo (that Maude gave him!), ready to move on from the dour person he was at the beginning. Like how Maude impacts Harold, this film makes me want to make the most of my time on Earth.