Harold and Maude - 1971 * *

This is a cult classic. Millions of people supposedly love it. I didn't. I found it a very disturbing film. The movie centres around a young boy who is emotionally unprovided for by his mother and seeks to impress her in any way possible including bizarre suicide attempts to which his mother has become immune. When he meets Maude at a funeral his whole conception of life and love is turned around and he finds himself pursuing a relationship with her despite the vast age gap.

I understand what this film is trying to do, trying to show that no matter how old, what background they have, some people just 'fit' together and have similar attitudes to life bla bla. I just didn't enjoy it and found the relationship between the very young boy and the very old woman uncalled for. The film could have been shown as the girl and boy being roughly the same age and still had the same impact. Or maybe not, was the original idea to shock the audience? It did me, so much so that it's only getting 2 stars.