Love and Suicide in the time of Cat Stevens

HAROLD AND MAUDE (1971)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

Hal Ashby's "Harold and Maude" is one of the most offbeat and humane black comedies of all time. Its subject is dour but its presentation is impeccably bright in every respect, dealing with life and death in surprisingly dramatic and obscenely funny ways.

Harold (Bud Cort) is a seemingly troubled 20-year-old who loves to fake suicide attempts. He does them in front of his mother (Vivian Pickles), who is more annoyed than she is frightened by them. Harold pretends to drown, shoot himself, hang himself, slit his wrists, chop off his hand, immolate himself, etc. None of these attempts work on his mother. All his mother does is arrange computer dates with Harold, each of whom he promptly scares away. We do not learn much about Harold except that he enjoys driving a hearse and frequents funerals of people he doesn't know. One day, Harold meets his match at a funeral. She is Maude (Ruth Gordon), a seventy nine-year-old woman who steals cars and just about everything else. She even steals Harold's hearse at one point which is how they meet. Maude teaches Harold to love life, to embrace it and nurture it. She lives in a train car which is full of flowers, guitar-playing instruments, and other assorted trinkets. She shows him the beauty of sunsets and of stealing planted trees on street corners and putting them where they belong: in the forest. Thanks to her free-spirited and nonchalant manner, they almost get into trouble with a motorcycle cop.

At Harold's home, things are not any better. When Harold's mother finds out about Harold's new friend, she tries to get him in the military by way of his Uncle Victor (Charles Tyner), Douglas McCarthur's right-hand man. Harold's response to war is to mimic shooting the enemy and to enjoy it a bit too much. A priest tells Harold that marrying an older woman with sagging breasts and buttocks makes him want to "vomit." Harold's psychiatrist has the funniest line as a Freud portrait stands in back of him: "You want to sleep with your grandmother." But none of this means anything to Maude - she wants Harold to grow and stick to his dreams, his wants, his needs.

"Harold and Maude" evolves with complete assuredness, thanks to a terrific screenplay by Colin Higgins and unobtrusive direction by the late Hal Ashby. Its blend of the macabre with moments of sensibility and pathos makes for a remarkably emotional experience. It also helps that Cat Stevens' songs populate the soundtrack every once in a while, an ironic counterpoint to Harold's own posh digs. If you think about it, it is rather funny to hear a Cat Stevens song playing while Harold drives his hearse.

Bud Cort ("Brewster McCloud") became forever typecast as the elusive Harold, preoccupied with death but also with trying to get attention from his mother. His performance is minimal in terms of expression but slowly he starts to evolve from a wan looking, inexpressive young man into someone who sees there is a life to live in this cruel world.

Ruth Gordon is the real centerpiece of the film, showing a woman of such joy and fleeting sadness (notice the concentration camp number on her wrist) that it makes a film of nihilistic rebellion (Harold and Maude's) into something much deeper and optimistic. Her ironic last sequence will make you tear up.

"Harold and Maude" is the 70's answer to the classic "The Graduate" but more focused and clever at every turn. Yes, there are some stereotypes and perhaps obvious symbolism yet for a film of such black comic overtones, there is a degree of intelligence and humanity that reigns above any other film of its type (it doesn't survive on black humor alone). Love it or hate it, there haven't been many films like "Harold and Maude."