In comparison to modern movies, sometimes older films must go further to achieve more out of their stories. This might mean more dialogue, more symbolism, and opposite characters that personify modern problems. It can go deep.
All the above said, let’s talk about the majesty that is Harold and Maude. On the surface, it’s a pleasant film about a young guy learning life through the eyes of an older woman. Down deep, it’s a movie that touches everyone who has ever felt lost in life at a young age. If you were a teenager in your life, then you know exactly what that means.
Let’s dig into it.
Official Synopsis
Harold (Bud Cort) is a death-obsessed teen who falls for Maude (Oscar® winner* Ruth Gordon), a happy-go-lucky, eccentric 79-year-old.
That was a quick synopsis. The story is about two different people trying to find their way through life and needing a partner to do so. Harold is very much a death-obsessed teenager. He is also a rich kid whose mother has everything planned out for him. From what he is going to do with his life, to who he is going to marry, even down to the type of car he should be driving – his life is planned without his consent. As with all teenagers, Harold rejects the plan and goes with his own, which is unplanned and free-flowing. It’s a variable he holds onto to keep his life worth living. In between his mom’s plans and his rejection of them, he drives his family bats by disrupting everything they’re trying to do for him.
Harold’s life changes when he meets Maude at a funeral. No, make that two different funerals. She is everything he wants to be in life. She steals cars, plays the system, and lives on her own and more importantly, she lives the way she wants to live. Her character is interesting, as it’s the exact opposite of Harold, where she absolutely has no idea what a new day will bring, but she does know that she won’t live forever so she doesn’t worry about it. She is a carefully crafted character that is the ultimate goal of what Harold wants to be.
As the movie progresses, the two begin to hang out on a day-to-day basis, even against Harold’s mom’s wishes. Maude teaches Harold how to live and how to get what he wants despite what his family wants him to obtain. The entire film is just one big series of capers and learning lessons that piece together the final version of Harold. It’s a very powerful message about living while you can and finding who you are and what your place is in life. It’s also an underlying message about taking chances and fully comprehending that life is finite and you must get the most out of it while you still can.
As crazy as this sounds, this movie is akin to the story of Charlotte’s Web, where a matured spider helps make a lost pig more than he is and ends up saving his life at the end.
*SPOILER ALERT* And that’s how this film ends. After deciding to get married to Maude, whom he appreciates immensely for showing him how to live, and when Maude has taught Harold all she can, Maude does him the greatest justice in the world by teaching him that life, while it is full of joy and beautiful moments, is also heartbreaking. This lesson is death comes for us all. Maude commits suicide at the end, which is a powerful lesson. Her suicide at the end pushes him over the line in becoming the final version of who he believes he is, which is someone who loves life to the fullest and wants to live a good one. *SPOILER ALERT ENDS*
I have never seen this film before and had always heard how truly impactful it was, but never understood why. That ending completely caught me off guard, but damn was it good. Everyone has to go through living and loving life, but rarely do we ever plan to go through the process of loss. No one wants to acknowledge that someday in the future we’re not going to be without loved ones on earth. Some day we will take our final breath and that will be the curtain closing for us. Knowing that at some point that is going to happen is a good thing, as Harold and Maude reinforces because then you know that you need to absolutely appreciate everyone and every day around us right now. You honestly never know when that will come to an end. Maude’s final lesson is a beautiful, yet tragic one for Harold. You feel for him, but at the same time, there is hope for him, more so than when the story began. He knows exactly how he wants to feel and his days will be filled full of Maude’s lessons.
This movie is everything that it was advertised. Yes, it’s a bit wacky in its delivery, but it’s incredibly direct on its intentions. Why this isn’t a film on every film teacher’s list is baffling, as it’s a perfect story in almost every way.
