November 17, 2006

Harold and Maude (1971)

2/5

I don't know what it is about movies I've been seeing recently that just have the most bizarre, eccentric characters ever; sorry, it's just no longer believable to me. The cinematography is trapped in the 70's; heinous zooms, porn lighting, and strange cuts. It tries to emulate the style of The Graduate (but fails, obviously) in its style of humor (subtle, yet serious), relationships between people (young man, older woman), and soundtrack (being entirely composed of one artist). This movie is just, well, odd. Also, its ending is extremely unsatisfying and easily predictable.

There were some funny and also heartwarming moments. It's definitely better if someone is watching it with you (someone came in and saw the last half with me and it was much funnier). I wouldn't really recommend this movie, but I would recommend Hal Ashby's Being There; it's funnier, richer thematically and cinematically, and even deals with some of the same subject matter.

IMDb link: http://imdb.com/title/tt0067185/