Harold And Maude

Usually in films we see relationships between older men and younger women. But back in the early 1970's we had one that was the other way around.
This is another one of those films that I had heard of from its reputation but never actually seen. So I was pleased to get the chance to see it on the big screen. Being a black comedy it appealed to me quite a lot. I cannot imagine one of the major film studios making his film today. The morbid nature of Harold would not survive the focus groups or marketing people. The film opens with Harold trying to kill himself so that would not be the best way to start a film. The plot is the fairly typical one of a young rich kid who feels underappreciated by his parents (in this case a mother) and so lashes out. Most of the humour in the film is derived by Harold's mother and the way she responds to Harold's various suicide attempts. They are especially funny when he attempts them while she is trying to set him up with women. My favourite was when he set himself on fire. In amongst all these funny suicide attempts Harold begins a very sweet relationship with a much older woman. At first it seems to be just a friendly relationship but then develops into something more. Director Hal Ashby manages to make the relationship feel natural and not sleazy like you would expect some film makers to do.
As Harold Bud Cort is excellent. His performance is very subtle and not over stated. He really brings out the melancholy nature of Harold. His body language and facial expressions also make him more expressive. I mostly know Ruth Gordon from the Clint Eastwood films 'Every Which Way But Loose' and 'Any Which Way You Can'. I was not familiar with many of her other films so was pleased to see her performance here. Ruth definitely gives older people a good name, even if she is doing some bad things. Her zest for life makes the film very enjoyable. Also enjoyable in a humorous way is Vivian Pickles as Harold's mother. As mentioned above her scenes provide most of the films humour and she is very funny in her apathetic view to Harold's suicide attempts. The film's other funniest performance comes from Charles Tyner as Harold's uncle. While he does play the character over the top and a bit clichéd he is still very funny.
Just your old fashioned unconventional romantic comedy. A wonderful black comedy about a relationship we don't see much of in cinema.