Harold and Maude (1971)

Bleakly and darkly comedic, Harold and Maude frequently appears in best romantic comedy lists. It's an odd film, there's no getting away from that, but often odd means interesting. The opening scene sees Harold seemingly hanging himself, only for us to quickly realise this is his favourite hobby, planning elaborate fake suicide attempts to shock his long suffering mother. It's an unusual past time, and clearly one that probably warrants therapy of some sort. But Harold's Mum is past making the time and effort for his issues, she persistently tries to set Harold up with various girls in a bid to imprint some sort of normality onto his life. But once Harold meets Maude, a seventy-nine year old lady who leads him on an amusing trail of mischief, all hope of a 'normal' romantic association goes out the window. Maude tries to impress upon Harold the importance of living life to the full, and their relationship is the story. It's heartwarming, weird, and very darkly amusing. 7.5/10