Plot Details: This opinion reveals minor details about the movie's plot.

Harold and Maude is a classic dark comedy about two disturbed people who form an unlikely romance. One is a young man (Bud Cort) with an obsession with death, and the other is an almost-80 year old woman (Ruth Gorden) who seems to be high on life. To call this movie unconventional would definitely be an understatement.

This film famously opens with a long tracking shot of Harold moving about a large room in his mansion of a house that he shares with his snooty rich mother. The scene ends with him stepping onto a small bench, then kicking it out from underneath him as he dangles there from a noose. For a moment we are made to believe that he has hung himself, then his mother enters the room and makes a phone call. When finished, she hangs up the phone and tells Harold to get down from there and prepare for dinner. In movies like this, the first scene or first joke is there to set the tone for the rest of the movie. You have to see the dark humor on what Harold does in order to get this movie.

When not staging fake suicides, Harold’s other favorite hobby is to attend funerals. It is at these funerals that he meets a hyper old lady named Maude. Her favorite pastime, after visiting funerals, is to steal cars and joyride around town. She befriends the oddball Harold and they go back to her home, which appears to be an old train car, and they talk about this and that. Maude teaches Harold to appreciate the time he has on earth and to enjoy life to the fullest. Over time, a strange sort of romantic relationship develops between the two, and the film even implies that they had sex.

Meanwhile, Harold’s mother (Vivian Pickles) tries to find young girls to introduce to her son. Harold is more interested in playing mind games on the girls than anything else, but the three scenes with the different girls are the funniest parts of this movie. One in particular shows Harold looking toward the camera with the most hilarious grin while his mother stares on in anger. The timing and facial expression of that quick scene are excellent. In another, Harold seems to be acting normal until he pulls a meat cleaver out of his jacket and hacks off a prosthetic hand right in front of the girl his mother is trying to set him up with.

You might say the Harold character was the first ‘goth’ before that type of lifestyle really had a name. He drove a hearse and obsessed with death and depression and suicide. If this movie were made today he’s be one of those freaks with the fishnet shirts and ridiculous black hairdo’s you see hanging out at the Hot Topic store in the mall. You can tell from Harold’s home life that he’s desperately in need of some attention. He does at least exhibit a creative side and sense of humor when not wallowing in his own problems. Bud Cort’s performance in this role is excellent, and the only reason he didn’t become a huge star was that an unfortunate auto accident stunted his career. He most recently appeared in a great minor role opposite Bill Murray in The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou.

The Maude character obviously suffers from mental problems, perhaps dementia or Alzheimer’s, though she does have some shining moments. I’ve noticed with some Alzheimer’s patients that it’s like their mind turns backward in time. This might explain Maude’s teenage-like behavior. Ruth Gordon’s performance was excellent, as well as brave. My own grandmother lived to be 102 and in her last couple of years she got to where she did not recognize her own children or grandchildren, but was still familiar with old family photos and television shows like I Love Lucy. In her last days, she would often wake up singing songs and hymns from when she was a little girl.

Harold and Maude is a very dark movie that does have a redeeming, if not twisted, ending. It was released in 1971 and the free-living, anti-establishment behavior of Maude seemed to reflect a lot of the sentiment of the 1960’s. This is a film that is to be taken with a grain of salt, but it does have some very great and funny moments. It’s worth repeated viewings just to pick up on the little nuances of detail and language that you may have missed the first time around.

The DVD, which I got from Netflix, had no special features besides a couple of trailers. The 5.1 channel sound was excellent, including the soundtrack from Cat Stevens, though the film transfer had some jagged edges on most of the wide angle shots.


Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Good Date Movie