A death-obsessed young man (Bud Cort) from a wealthy family meets a devil-may-care, bohemian octogenarian (Ruth Gordon) at a funeral. The two develop a taboo romantic relationship, in which they explore the tired theme of the meaning of life with a fresh perspective. With the idiosyncratic American fable Harold and Maude, countercultural director Hal Ashby fashioned what would become the cult classic of its era.