The Graduate [M]

Shy and uncertain Benjamin Braddock is back from college with a degree in his hand and an uncertain mind about his future. With his parents suffocating him with education, level-headedness, and praise, Ben cannot see straight enough as it is, but his confusion is thrust up to a whole new level when the wife of his father’s business partner begins making strong sexual advances towards him. Completely lost and uncertain, Ben is then saved by Elaine, the girl of his dreams, but to add insult to injury, Elaine is Mrs. Robinson’s daughter and this sexually territorial woman will stop at nothing to keep the two apart. 

Nominated for seven Academy Awards and earning director Mike Nichols the Academy Award for Best Achievement in Directing, The Graduate was a subtly shocking film that dealt with a number of themes including defiance, self-realisation, sexuality, and relationships. Packed with powerful performances and a memorable soundtrack, it really was a brilliant film. 

Shy and uncertain Benjamin Braddock is back from college with a degree in his hand and an uncertain mind about his future. With his parents suffocating him with education, level-headedness, and praise, Ben cannot see straight enough as it is, but his confusion is thrust up to a whole new level when the seductive and manipulative wife of his father’s business partner begins making strong sexual advances towards him. Completely lost and panicked, Ben is then saved by Elaine, the girl of his dreams. However, Elaine is Mrs. Robinson’s daughter and the sexually territorial dame will stop at nothing to keep the lovers apart. 

I think what was most powerful about the movie was its subtlety. Essentially, nothing much happens aside from a young man struggling through a relationship with an older woman, and then falling in love with the woman’s daughter. I have to admit that quite a few of the messages about uncertainty and impulse were completely overlooked by me, and it wasn’t until the climactic end that I had an epiphany and realised what the film was about. Yes, it’s one of those movies where perseverance is rewarded. 

Dustin Hoffman stars as Benjamin Braddock and he was simply marvellous. On the surface, it seemed that his performance was subdued and occasionally jagged, but as the dramas of the film erupt one by one, Dustin delivers a moving, uncertain, impulsive, polite, and oddly romantic performance. He was mesmerising from start to finish. 

Starring Anne Bancroft, Katharine Ross, William Daniels, Murray Hamilton, Elizabeth Wilson, Buck Henry, Brian Avery, Walter Brooke, Norman Fell, Alice Ghostley, Marion Lorne, and Eddra Gale, The Graduate was a brilliant film filled with defiance, self-realisation, drama, sexuality, a bizarre love triangle, and, finally, certainty. It was absolutely brilliant!