Wednesday, April 24, 2013

     Harold and Maude, by Hal Ashby, is a dark comedy about a troubled boy in his teens. He ruthlessly attempts to torment his mother by staging many moments that, Harold, would commit suicide. His exploits implies his obsession with death, until he meets Maude who teaches him about art and music in which he learns to play the banjo. Maude is 79 years old, but loves life despite her age, the same knowledge she tries to impart onto Harold. He falls in love with Maude and wishes to marry her ignoring his mother's opposition, but before he is able to Maude takes and overdose of sleeping pills and dies. Harold drives his car off a cliff, but is seen at the edge playing his banjo, dancing away.
      The editing in this film is succinct and fluid, it follows the tone of the story along with the music allowing the audience to feel the same connection the characters share. The most imporatant aspect of the film were the sounds. Some were diegetic, while others are non-diegetic. It added to the troubled undertone that existed within Harold which fit the dark undertone beneath the humor switching between influencing the characters emotions or the audience's depending on whether the scene became cheery or more somber. The humor stands out based on the character Harold and his views of life and death, which lean more towards loving life after meeting Maude when there is ironically death. Music also had a big part in this film, unlike some films that rely mostly on character and plot, in this case, it greatly complimented the atmosphere, without the music, there was no catharsis of any sort. It acted in accordance to the feelings of the characters and their developing relationship with each other. The age gap however must have proposed a challenge, but these two actors worked very well together to provide a believable love affair between for the audience.
  

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