The GraduateRight now, things are a little mixed up for Benjamin Braddock (Dustin Hoffman), the young scholar and graduate, track star and golden boy, returning home to his parents in an affluent suburb in California. Sure, Ben appears to have the world in the palm of his hand, but he's anxious about his future, and unsure about life in general. So when Ben is propositioned following a deceptive mix of seduction and coercion by Mrs. Robinson (Anne Bancroft)--and, no, we never get her first name--who happens to be the wife of his father's business partner, he falls prey to her wiles and begins to lose himself in a web of clandestine rendezvous and hopeless drifting.
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It could be said that Ben--the main character of Mike Nichol's The Graduate--lacks life experience. He has been kept in a sheltered environment, safe and warm, trained to behave and receive praise for his good behavior. A lot of this is implied, since our first introduction to Ben is on his return flight home. His interactions with others are guarded and anxious, bordering on neurotic. It seems that at some point Ben took a good hard look in the mirror, and realized that he didn't know what he wanted to do with his life. Problem is that Ben's parents are of no help in guiding him along the right path for him, just the right path for them. This isn't to say that Ben's parents don't love him, but that parents often times seem to forget how it was when they were younger--or choose to ignore it--and are now on the opposite side of the generation gap. The Graduate debuted in 1967, at the height of the "flower power" and "hippie" movements, representing a significant generation divide. The sense of unease and inability to connect with the older generation no doubt gave the film a powerful pull for audiences at its inception; the film remains relevant for any aimless young adult as it did before. The only person whom Ben really feels connected to is Elaine Robinson (Katharine Ross), daughter of Mrs. Robinson, who forbids Ben to meet Elaine because she doesn't think he is good enough for her--ironically, this painful revelation is thrust onto Benjamin by Mrs. Robinson just before they engage in another session of their sexual affair. One of the best remembered lines from The Graduate is, "Mrs. Robinson, you're trying to seduce me". Well, Benjamin, you're probably right, even though she plays it close to the chest. It's unclear whether Mrs. Robinson has done this before to other young men, but if she isn't, she's got a real talent for manipulation, and she certainly sinks her fangs into the young track star without hesitation.
I've always wondered just why it is that Ben engages in his affair with Mrs. Robinson--he doesn't actually seem to enjoy the process--but then I realized that Ben is psychologically warped by his upbringing into needing affirmation from his elders, needing to be kind and courteous because he is supposed to be. Consider his behavior upon his first visit to the Taft Hotel, where he holds the door for an entire parade of patrons, and is too polite to interrupt and correct the members of the Silverman party, to tell them that he is not actually their guest. Ben finds himself muscled by Mrs. Robinson to fulfill her needs, and feels that not engaging her would be...I don't know, disrespectful. So as absurd as it is when Ben describes the affair to Mr. Robinson (Murray Hamilton) as if they were "shaking hands", to Ben that's really all it meant. Ben has always lived his life under the humiliating thumbs of his parents, who drag him out as a showpiece for their rich friends. Maybe before this wouldn't have bothered him, but now, after having that moment of clarity--perhaps that deep, long, introspective moment when we hear the songs of Simon and Garfunkel intone, "hello darkness, my old friend"--that Ben knows in his heart that he needs a future that is, in his words, different...not good or bad, but different. Even when Ben's blossoming relationship with Elaine seems to be hitting its stride, and is subsequently derailed in an act of terrible spite by Mrs. Robinson, Ben still pursues her, even though in all fairness, Elaine should want nothing to do with Ben--although why Elaine finds any appeal in the "make out king" Carl Smith (Brian Avery) is beyond me, but Ben's stalking of Elaine should only make things worse. Maybe it is because Ben and Elaine are of a younger generation, not jaded and condemned to the hollow existence of their parents and their that world that she recognizes Ben's shameless honesty and passion as genuine, and she also wants something different like Ben in the end. And then there's that closing shot, which has always given me pause, leaving me with the sensation that Ben's ultimate effort was for his benefit more than Elaine's, that he was more interested in proving something to himself than her. It's an ambiguity which I feel is a fantastic final flourish for the film, leaving us--and that younger generation--with the cautionary thought that it is okay to rebel, but know why you rebel...for your own sake, and those affected by you.
Recommended for: Fans of a coming of age story about searching within for what is truly important, and what you really want out of life. And always remember to fuel up the car when you have the chance.
I've always wondered just why it is that Ben engages in his affair with Mrs. Robinson--he doesn't actually seem to enjoy the process--but then I realized that Ben is psychologically warped by his upbringing into needing affirmation from his elders, needing to be kind and courteous because he is supposed to be. Consider his behavior upon his first visit to the Taft Hotel, where he holds the door for an entire parade of patrons, and is too polite to interrupt and correct the members of the Silverman party, to tell them that he is not actually their guest. Ben finds himself muscled by Mrs. Robinson to fulfill her needs, and feels that not engaging her would be...I don't know, disrespectful. So as absurd as it is when Ben describes the affair to Mr. Robinson (Murray Hamilton) as if they were "shaking hands", to Ben that's really all it meant. Ben has always lived his life under the humiliating thumbs of his parents, who drag him out as a showpiece for their rich friends. Maybe before this wouldn't have bothered him, but now, after having that moment of clarity--perhaps that deep, long, introspective moment when we hear the songs of Simon and Garfunkel intone, "hello darkness, my old friend"--that Ben knows in his heart that he needs a future that is, in his words, different...not good or bad, but different. Even when Ben's blossoming relationship with Elaine seems to be hitting its stride, and is subsequently derailed in an act of terrible spite by Mrs. Robinson, Ben still pursues her, even though in all fairness, Elaine should want nothing to do with Ben--although why Elaine finds any appeal in the "make out king" Carl Smith (Brian Avery) is beyond me, but Ben's stalking of Elaine should only make things worse. Maybe it is because Ben and Elaine are of a younger generation, not jaded and condemned to the hollow existence of their parents and their that world that she recognizes Ben's shameless honesty and passion as genuine, and she also wants something different like Ben in the end. And then there's that closing shot, which has always given me pause, leaving me with the sensation that Ben's ultimate effort was for his benefit more than Elaine's, that he was more interested in proving something to himself than her. It's an ambiguity which I feel is a fantastic final flourish for the film, leaving us--and that younger generation--with the cautionary thought that it is okay to rebel, but know why you rebel...for your own sake, and those affected by you.
Recommended for: Fans of a coming of age story about searching within for what is truly important, and what you really want out of life. And always remember to fuel up the car when you have the chance.