Tessa Thompson’s Unlikely Favourite: The Film Critics Hated
Tessa Thompson reveals her deep admiration for a cult classic that was once slammed by critics, sharing how it shaped her outlook and inspired her creative journey.
While Tessa Thompson has made her mark in some of the world’s biggest blockbusters, she’s also no stranger to critical acclaim. Her turn in Nia DaCosta’s Hedda, which she helped produce, earned her a nod for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama at the 2026 Golden Globes. But it hasn’t all been smooth sailing. Despite the Marvel juggernaut boosting her profile, she’s had to front up in a few less-than-stellar outings—The Marvels and Thor: Love and Thunder spring to mind. Her shot at reviving Men in Black didn’t exactly set the world on fire either, with the next instalment now banking on Will Smith to bring punters back.
Still, Thompson doesn’t seem too fussed about what the critics reckon. Chatting with Collider, she shared her affection for a film that copped a hammering on release but later found its feet.
“It was universally panned [when it came out],”
she said of Harold and Maude.
“It took almost a decade before audiences got it, and now, the film has a cult following, and it’s been influential for so many directors that we know and love…”
From Box Office Flop to Cult Classic
Hal Ashby’s Harold and Maude is a darkly comic look at life’s big questions. The story follows Harold, a young bloke with a morbid fascination for death, and Maude, a 79-year-old Holocaust survivor who’s all about squeezing every drop out of life. Despite the age gap, the pair strike up a bond, each offering the other a fresh take on what it means to live—and die.
When it first hit cinemas in 1971, most critics just didn’t get it. These days, though, it’s seen as a classic. People rave about its offbeat humour, the way the characters bounce off each other, and a surprisingly uplifting ending. In fact, it was picked for preservation by the US National Film Registry back in 1997.
Personal Inspiration and Lasting Impact
If anyone’s in doubt about Thompson’s passion for Harold and Maude, just look at her production company’s name—Viva Maude, a nod to Ruth Gordon’s character. For Thompson, Maude is the original ‘manic pixie dream girl’, but with a twist.
“For my money, she’s one of the first occurrences of this trope,”
she said.
“This woman who comes into a depressive man’s life and turns it around with her zest for life and vivaciousness. But she herself disrupts the trope because she happens to be a woman in her late 80s who also has a death wish.”
There are heaps of films that only found their audience years after release. What’s popular or panned can shift as times change. Thompson reckons she might not have been a fan if she’d seen Harold and Maude when it first came out, but now, she can’t get enough of it.