The Graduate (1967) ~ Unrequited Screen

Director: Mike Nichols; Screenplay: Calder Willingham & Buck Henry; Cinematography: Robert Surtees

Cast: Dustin Hoffmann, Anne Bancroft, Kathtarine Ross

based on a novel by Charles Webb

In The Graduate younger generation rejected the values of their over diligent parents and were much more idealistic. Like we can say about all the next generations. Their approach to life was different. The older generation wallowed in hypocrisy and everyone tried to be bigger and better than the rest. The Robinsons were a prime example of the old cynical generation. Mrs. Robinson was the woman who didn’t have enough time to live as she was forced to enter the world of family values and sophisticated poolside parties. She was the woman who didn’t get to choose. And then over two decades later, her beauty was fading and all she had left were the memories of her once freedom and the stiff drink in her hand.

Benjamin Braddock was a recent college graduate. You’d expect one would enter there with a purpose and a plan for after but he wasn't at all sure about his future. Ben ended up being under a lot of pressure hence everybody else had a plan for him except he himself. He hears the advice of strangers, shakes hands with faceless men, with people who think they know Benjamin better than he does.

Benjamin was a witty, rational and a mature young man while somehow remaining his innocence which made him more approachable to viewers and gave us a little insight into his essence and more dynamics to his character.

At the beginning Ben started out as a lost boy but as the situation progressed he grew more self-conscience and his priorities changed while also developing. His self-doubting personality made him an easy prey for Mrs. Robinson. The seduction of Benjamin in the first part of the movie was very entertaining and the scenes radiated with awkwardness. You could practically see the distress in Ben's eyes.

A big turn in the movie takes place when Mrs. Robinson's daughter, Elaine, steps in. Ben was forced to take her out because of the pressure that was put on him by his parents and Elaine’s father. He thinks of it as a harrowing duty and tries his best to make it as horrible and humiliating as possible for the girl. Even our cold hearts went out to poor Elaine. But with Elaine stepping in, suddenly there were more people involved than just Ben and Mrs. Robinson and that’s when things got complicated.

For us the strongest part of the The Graduate was the dialogue. So brilliant and juicy, most of the times dead-on with the ridiculousness of the situations and also very entertaining during the embarrassment of Benjamin. That awkwardness that Dustin Hoffmann brought to the character produced one of the most favorite and honest line ever,

“Mrs. Robinson, you’re trying to seduce me. Aren’t you”?

That’s just pure gold. Without the brightness and cleverness that was brought to this movie through writing and acting, the movie would’ve been a flop thus the story itself was quite slow and motionless only playing on the main characters shine and Mrs. Robinson’s desperateness.

We also can’t leave out the gorgeous cinematography. This is what Benni loves very much in movies. We enjoyed every part of it, Benni having so many favorite shots that she can’t name any.

Overall it was a movie we enjoyed. It had great humor and strong characters and only gets better by time and applies to all the going and coming generations because in the end it is a movie about finding purpose and not letting yourself get pushed somewhere you don’t want to go.