Graduate
Though kinda having slipped in stature in the last few years (going from the AFI’s Top Ten down to Top Twenty), this remains over 45 years after the fact truly one of the greatest movies ever made, and still holds up today remarkably well because there will always be young men (and women) who are unsure with what they want to do with their lives to this day. On top of its âyouth is powerâ message which resonated so strongly in the 60s, it also features an incredibly sweet love story and one of the most venomous female villains in screen history. Coming from the late Mike Nichols, a mostly journeyman director with a known output of decidedly average theatrical fare and who yet garnered some kind of reputation as a great auteur based almost solely on this film alone (thus every obituary reading âGraduate Director Mike Nicholsâ), the film depicts something very common in the lives of anyone who would find themselves in the main characterâs position, a feeling of alienation when one finishes something like college and then canât help but think that academia has only delayed them from getting their life started instead of helping them, a not unfair theory about colleges today given their rising tuitions which have betrayed the fact that they really do only care about money, but also leading to a lack of motivation to really find something to do with their lives now that a piece of paper called a degree sits in their hot little hands. The film stars Dustin Hoffman (at the time a wet around the ears newcomer whose real life awkwardness and nervousness played greatly into his performance here) as Benjamin Braddock, recently graduated from college in the East (although his major and degree are never mentioned on camera) returning home to LA as the first welcome notes of The Sounds Of Silence play on the soundtrack, setting the mood during the opening credits as Benjamin travels down the long airport treadmill and showing symbolism at its best about the treadmill of life. He comes home where his affluent, ultra WASP parents throw a big old party for him to welcome him home, but the idea of wandering amongst a room of older people who care more for his old man and his money than they do him comes off as the most unappealing situation imaginable. Only one of them breaks through the barrier in the form of Mrs. Robinson played by Anne Bancroft. Wandering into his bedroom and starting a conversation, then slyly manipulating him every step of the way back to her house, INSIDE of her house and finally the bedroom, the relationship comes across as both euphoric and tragic, as Benjamin gets his first time while we learn that Bancroft is really just a (very) sad older woman who has almost lost touch with everything in this world that makes her happy and even human. But her vicious, vindictive side does comes out when Benjamin makes time with her daughter Elaine as well (Katherine Ross, an actress with all the makings of a major star which nonetheless fell through into a abbreviated character actress career), although admittedly everyone from her own husband to Benjaminâs father were pressuring him to take her out on a date sometime. The irony of course is that Benjamin and Elaine turn out to be natural best friends and soulmates much to Bancroftâs chagrin, and the second half of the film is more or less about asking the question, to what lengths should one go in order to fight for the one they love? Benjamin pursues Elaine with a passion (even resorting to stalking, a concession for its time period before it became unPC) with again the irony being that Elaine really does love him and only goes about her business without him because of the pressure her parents have put on her to stay away from him due to her motherâs wrath. Which also brings up the interesting point of the perception that the older generation have of Benjamin throughout the film, that of going from being a respectable young man until when after knowledge of the affair with Bancroft comes out (with her claiming she was raped) to being disheveled and almost becoming a wild man (notice the condition of his fancy car as it diminishes from beginning to end) leading to him being called things like a degenerate and a punk. As far as the acting goes, Bancroft is amazing as Mrs. Robinson (you can’t take your eyes off her face), as is her expert style of not taking no for an answer even though itâs obvious how legitimately frightened Benjamin really is of her. Katherine Ross as Elaine is the type of girl you can easily fall in love with, and her big brown eyes and major pout are also enough to make most guys settle for being her best friend as well, but it is Hoffman kicking off a now legendary career with what is still his best performance that the world came to remember this film by. Awkward, scared, yet still bravely defiant when he decides what it is he wants in life, his Benjamin became a hero for smart yet unmotivated young men everywhere, especially when you get fed up with the bullshit called life which requires you to do things in this world you donât enjoy doing in order to survive. Special mention must be made of the legendary Simon and Garfunkel soundtrack, with Sounds Of Silence and Mrs. Robinson being the most famous and overall setting the perfect ambiance for this kind of story. Overall, truly a brilliant piece of work that not only defined a generation, but continues to do so to this dayâŚ
10/10