Mike Nichols was a stage comedian and writer in his early career. His very first directorial work in the movies was the cinematic interpretation of a stark serious play (Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf). With his second film, he partially returned to comedy. It seems to me as if his interest in deep social issues within the American culture of money and success, that was ingrained in, “Woolf”, was still prominent when he made, “The Graduate”. The result is one of the funniest and exciting comedies every made.
Many well known and much respected critics have called, “The Graduate” dated. I disagree. While firmly placed in the middle of the turbulent 1960’s, it deals with timeless issues of decisions young people make at the crossroad, and post-education period, of their lives. Many young people struggle with the same issues that the protagonist of this wonderful film, Benjamin Braddock (Dustin Hoffman), does. This was Hoffman’s first major motion picture role, and it is still, in my opinion, one of his best performances.
Braddock has just returned home after having completed his bachelor’s degree. The movie begins with his arrival back home to fanfare. His parents, who are an upper middle class American white suburban couple, hold a celebrated party for him. Strangely this party is made up of only his parent’s friends. There is nobody Ben’s age anywhere to be seen. His Father is a lawyer with his own firm, partnered with Mr. Robinson. Mr. Robinson’s wife is the sexy and sad Mrs. Robinson. It is at this party that she, after asking Ben to drive her home, makes him a proposition of easy casual sex. It is a proposition that many young men like Ben would have a hard time refusing. Ben is no exception. The fact that he is a virgin without any experience adds to the fun of the seduction. Mrs. Robinson, as portrayed in a masterful performance by Anne Bancroft, has gone down is pulp culture lore as the ultimate seductress of young geeky men. Ben will then fall in love with Mrs. Robinson’s daughter, thrusting the film into its wonderful, romantic, and exciting finish.
The many laughs generated in the movie do not come about because of gags but develop through situations and characterizations. The hotel scene from the first rendezvous is priceless. Ben treats it like some sort of secret mission, while Mrs. Robinson is amused as well as aroused by the inner sexual turmoil and anxiety that drips out of Ben like water from a faucet. This was Hoffman’s first real motion picture role, having worked previously in television, and his ability to convey thoughts and desires through body language is impeccable. The transformation from the 1st section to the 2nd section occurs with the close of the hotel door and is one the great frame transitions in cinema. From that darkness of the closed door and into the dark sunglasses of a cool, relaxed Ben Braddock. Earlier in the movie Ben’s parents force him to show off a scuba diving suit by jumping into the house pool while wearing it. It is a painful and funny scene that has Ben barely moving and breathing heavy and then staying underwater as if to hide from life. With the transition our sunglass wearing hero is now on the pool lying on a water mattress and then coolly jumps into the water to swim, head held high. Within a few seconds I realized that Ben is now different, liberated and changed. It is brilliant and I never get bored watching it.
Once the affair between Ben and Mrs. Robinson is consummated, the movie, and Ben, make a striking transformation. The movie is divided into two very clear sections. There is the 1st, very funny, virginal and pre-affair section and then there is the 2nd, romantic, dramatic, and post affair section. Nichols makes a clear transformation through his images, the music of Simon and Garfunkel, and the performance of Hoffman. In the first half Ben is a nervous wreck, full of inner turmoil and nerves.
All the performances of the supporting cast are perfect. From Murray Hamilton as Mr. Robinson to Buck Henry as the unpleasant hotel clerk. Henry, who would go on to have a great career writing movie comedies, wrote his first screenplay for this movie. It is however Hoffman and Bancroft who steal the show here. As Mrs. Robinson, Anne Bancroft gives a deep and complex performance. Her character could easily have appeared as a cartoonish villain. Instead, we are given insight as to the sadness of her life and Bancroft gives this smart beautiful woman real life. Her interest in Ben to me seemed almost like an interest in helping him out of his torment. Through facial expressions of wonder and curiosity, her Mrs. Robinson, becomes irresistible. She more than holds her own against Hoffman. Their scenes together are one of the major highlights of the film.
Nichols had an extremely keen eye for visual perspectives and there are numerous unforgettable scenes in this movie. In addition to the transition to a cool Ben, there is the framing of a nervous Ben through the slinky legs of Mrs. Robinson and the underwater scuba diving scene filmed through the first view perspective of a trapped Ben, to name just a few.
It would not be possible to talk about, “The Graduate”, without mentioning the music score of Simon and Garfunkel. While “The Sound of Silence”, was already a recognizable song when the movie was made, two other songs, “Scarborough Fair”, and the legendary, “Mrs. Robinson”, were written for the movie. These wonderful songs are paced beautifully throughout the movie and give the film a melancholic flair that warmed my soul to its core.
One thing I noticed while watching this movie was the fact that almost all the main characters were very sad. Ben does not seem to have a friend in the world and seemed depressed all the time. Mrs. Robinson had to give up her dreams, so that she could give birth to her daughter, and lived her life in a loveless marriage. Her daughter felt the effects of this marriage and seemed resigned to a similar fate, giving her a very sorrowful feel to her character. The driving force of freedom is shown to be love. The lack of it will cause depression and the need to find it keeps us alive. That is the great message of the movie.
One of the film Genre’s that was created because of, “The Graduate”, is the good romantic comedy. These are the films that are based on well scripted characteristics, are full of humor, and have a resounding and uplifting ending. These are movies that bring two people together despite their initial intentions. The Graduate started it all, and today, it is still the best one. It is a wonderful movie that I never get tired of watching.
1001 Movies before you die 