Quartile rating: 7.5/10 · 1 rating
The story of Elwood P. Dowd who makes friends with a spirit taking the form of a human-sized rabbit named Harvey that only he sees (and a few privileged others on occasion also.) After his sister tries to commit him to a mental institution, a comedy of errors ensues. Elwood and Harvey become the catalysts for a family mending its wounds and for romance blossoming in unexpected places.
Harvey is a warm, singular film elevated enormously by James Stewart's career-best performance as Elwood P. Dowd — gentle, eccentric, and utterly believable in his friendship with an invisible six-foot rabbit. The premise is inherently novel and the film's philosophical undertone (who is really 'mad'?) gives it lasting resonance beyond screwball comedy. The plot, adapted from Mary Chase's Pulitzer-winning play, is charming but stagey and episodic, showing its theatrical origins clearly. Cinematography is functional black-and-white studio work — competent but unremarkable. The ending, while emotionally satisfying in its whimsy, arrives a touch abruptly and leans on sentiment rather than earning full dramatic resolution.