Are you trying to seduce me, Mrs. Robinson?

The Graduate (1967)

Adam’s rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)

Director: Mike Nichols

Rated: none. 106 min.

No. 7 on AFI 100

No. 17 on AFI 100 reissue

No. 164 on IMDB Top 250

Starring: Dustin Hoffman,
Anne Bancroft, Katherine Ross

"The Graduate": No. 7 on AFI 100;
No. 17 on AFI (2007); No. 164 on IMDB Top 250

Part of me wants to argue that this film is overrated, while the other part of me wants to laud this film for its accomplishments and achievement in American cinema. 


The cynic in me wants to fail to see what’s special about this film. A big part of me thinks that the reason this film is lauded is because of the amount of money it has grossed from its box office release in 1967 to its present day Blu-ray sales, not to mention how many people purchased the film on DVD, VHS, Laserdisc or watched it on TV.


The baby boomers wield a considerable amount of control with their dollars and the fact that this movie spoke to an entire generation as the pioneer film about angst and cynicism of the late-adolescence/early-adulthood set makes it a no-brainer that this film would be held in such high regard.


It's this part of the movie that makes me want to hate it.

However, when I first saw the film in my early 20s, it spoke to me. It made sense. I got it. I understood what Benjamin Braddock (Dustin Hoffman) was going through -- that feeling of alienation and not knowing what to do with your life (either in college or post college). Within the film was a concept I could grasp – being bored, cynical, feeling uninspired and alienated from the rest of the world because you’re a young adult, doing your thing. Yeah, I get that feeling. Some days, I still have that feeling. This is a rapid changing world we live in. One in which the baby boomers are now in charge and -- thanks to economic setbacks -- won't be retiring any soon. What that means is a generation divide between those of us in Generation Y and X vs. the Boomers. There's even a major divide between Y and X, but the Boomers are trying to figure out how to communicate with Y and vice versa. To an extent, I still get it and I still get those feelings.

But frankly, now that I'm pushing 30, I'm starting to think that Benjamin Braddock is just down-right lazy. Because, really, who wouldn't want to lounge around the pool all day drinking beer and having a sexual relationship with the wife of one of your dad's wealthy business partners?


The things I really like about this film are some of the film techniques used, the acting and the pioneering spirit in which the story addresses angst, alienation and cynicism.


First, the techniques. The best of this is used when Mrs. Robinson (Anne Bancroft) finally gets down to business. The one I'm talking about is where the camera flashes a split-second to show Mrs. Robinson stripping, flashes back to a nervous Braddock, flashes back to Mrs. Robinson's midriff, back to Braddock, etc. Of course the iconic scene of seeing Braddock through the bend in her stocking-covered knee is exhilarating, but it's not as powerful as the split-second flashes. If you've seen the movie, you know what I'm talking about. I feel that the technique accentuates the anxiety that Braddock feels as this is probably the first time he's either seen a woman in the nude or been this close to sex with a woman. It's very powerful and you can feel the anxiety he feels in this scene.


It goes without saying the acting in this movie is superb -- even if Hoffman gives us shades of early "Rain Man." Hoffman and Bancroft make the film feel real, like something the viewers can relate to. And really are the stars of the show. And rightfully so. They did receive top-billing...

Finally, there is something to be said for the fact that this might be the first film of its kind to tackle the issue of teenage angst/early adult cynicism. It certainly did a better job of portraying this feeling than "Rebel Without A Cause." I also applaud it for breaking social norms, mores and taboos concerning sex, especially an affair between a married woman and one of her daughter's peers. Bravo! For 1967, that was quite a powerful subject to be broaching and clearly this film put the final nail in the coffin of the Hayes Administration with its controversial (for that time) subject matter. It really paved the way for some of the gritty, realistic dramas that made history in the 1970s.