After years of being a die-hard Simon and Garfunkel fan who had not seen The Graduate, I decided that the time had come to rectify the situation. I rented this movie the day after I saw Art Garfunkel in concert, and now I can finally feel like my fandom is complete.
Not that there was anything new in this movie as far as music was concerned. Mrs. Robinson was obviously present, though in a much less complete and more annoying form than appeared on the Greatest Hits album. The movie opened and closed with The Sound of Silence, and it could also be heard during the course of the movie. Scarborough Fair was repeated several times, and Big, Bright Green Pleasure Machine and April, Come She Will made brief appearances. The Sound of Silence was played whenever Benjamin (Dustin Hoffman) was feeling unsure about his future, and Scarborough Fair was the love theme which played while Ben was seeking unsuccessfully to regain Elaine Robinson's favor. Punky's Dilemma, written to coincide with Ben's floating aimlessly in his swimming pool, was not included in the film.
Hailed as one of the defining movies of my parents' generation, The Graduate is the tale of Benjamin, a hopelessly confused college graduate. Assailed by relatives and family friends at his graduation party, the smothered Ben wants merely to disappear into his room in order to contemplate his future. In that haven, he is cornered by Mrs. Robinson (Anne Bancroft), the well-to-do wife of his father's business partner. Reluctantly, he agrees to drive her home from the party, and she proceeds to insist that he come in. Once inside, her bizarre behavior leads Benjamin to a disturbing conclusion. "Mrs. Robinson, you're trying to seduce me!" After this brash accusation, he falters, "...aren't you?"
When Mrs. Robinson denies it, Benjamin is horrified for having said such a thing, but her consequent actions affirm his initial assessment. After tricking Benjamin into seeing her naked, Mrs. Robinson offers her "services" to him so that she might educate him in the ways of the world. Benjamin is utterly repulsed, but further consideration leads him to accept the offer. The ensuing hotel scene is perhaps the most hilarious in the movie. It is from this scene that I take my title, my favorite line in the movie posed by the hotel concierge to a terrified Benjamin.
The affair continues throughout the summer, and Mrs. Robinson continues to manipulate Benjamin until her daughter Elaine comes home from college. In order to avoid arousing the suspicion of his parents, Benjamin takes Elaine out against the express orders of Mrs. Robinson. At first trying to make her dislike him, Benjamin comes to discover that he actually cares about Elaine and believes he has at last found a kindred spirit. Once Elaine learns of his affair with her mother, however, it will take everything in Benjamin's power to win her heart.
The entire movie has a dated quality to it, and the cinematography is often bizarre. The songs effectively reflect the mood of the main character, though Scarborough Fair three times in a row is a little annoying. The movie is meant to convey the frustration of the youth of the time with the generation preceding them, yet the end of the movie lends the conclusion that the shallow life Benjamin abhorred could well be what lay ahead for him.
Anne Bancroft portrays Mrs. Robinson with all the seductive power she can muster. She is villainous and easy to despise; one is seldom moved to pity her even though she is obviously miserable. The more we see of Mrs. Robinson, the more we come to realize that she is insane. This perception is confirmed by Mrs. Robinson's verse lyrics, written after the movie.
This was Dustin Hoffman's first major role, and he is the centerpiece of the movie. He represents a generation of unhappy wanderers. Hoffman's Benjamin is a walking bundle of nerves. His tension at any given moment is palpable, and he always looks as though he would shatter to pieces if you touched him. His uptight paranoia is the backbone to most of the comedic moments in the movie, and I found his cluelessness adorable. His performance makes the movie well worth sitting through.
That said, it's a weird movie. Some of the situations seem rather ludicrous when viewed from today's perspective. The characters are all a little loony, and the camera seems to have a mind of its own. The ending is rife with uncertainty, which is the point, I suppose. Ultimately, it is a somewhat satisfying yet unsettling film with many opportunities for laughs along the way. Check it out by all means, but don't assume that the inclusion of Simon and Garfunkel's consistently top-notch music means that this is an equally excellent movie. It is only fitting that a movie so concerned with mediocrity should become mired in it itself.
Nominated for seven Oscars and winner for Best Director, this groundbreaking and wildly hilarious (The Boston Globe) social satire launched the career...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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