Harold and Maude

Harold is an eccentric young man. His hobbies are attending funerals and faking suicides. He became interested in death after he nearly escaped it in a chemical explosion at school one time. Ever since, he's been staging fake hangings, drownings, gunshots, you name it. Harold pulls these stunts to irritate his mother and satisfy his markedly warped sense of humor. He's from a wealthy household and has nothing better to do. He even performs these stunts in front of the dates his mother arranges for him, all of whom run out the door as a result. The mother is trying to keep him from being a dejected loner. Harold doesn't care. Harold likes Maude. Maude is an unorthodox woman. She's an enlivened 79-yr-old old lady that lives without any hangups. She isn't preoccupied with judgment. She makes risqué sculptures, poses nude, plays a variety of instruments, steals cars-and goes to funerals too. That's where she and Harold meet. As much as she loves life and takes it like a breath of fresh air, she accepts death and isn't afraid of it. To her, death is a part of the cycle of life. And when it comes to living, sky's the limit. That's what she wants to teach the rather melancholic Harold. Harold and Maude are drawn to each other despite their considerable age gap. They are a "yin-yang" relationship of her optimism and his pessimism. Harold is more of a subdued individual. Maude encourages Harold to explore the positives of life. She wants him to open up to all the world has to offer, develop the zeal for it that she has. Maude and Harold enjoy the days together, living in the moment. Harold is so smitten that he proposes to marry her, much to the abhorrence of everyone else. But this joy and romance won't last forever as Maude has another plan in mind. She's going to commit suicide on her 80th birthday, and she does just that by overdosing on pills. When she tells Harold about it, it's too late. Maude dies at the hospital. Harold then takes off in his car and it is seen going off a cliff, though when the camera pans up, Harold is standing there playing the banjo Maude gave him. Maude taught him a valuable lesson that obviously made him think twice. She taught him to appreciate his life.