Simon and Garfunkel, you know that I love you with all my heart, but if I have to hear "Scarborough Fair" one more time, I am going to lose my mind. Mike Nichols' The Graduate is a very interesting film from top to bottom, as it accomplishes so many amazing feats while also having the apparently signature lack of plot direction or reasoning of films from the late 1960s. While Dustin Hoffman provides an incredible performance, his character is not quite up to that same par. Much of the writing is frustrating and nonsensical, but the way that the characters interact and develop can often be attention-grabbing. I am split quite evenly about this film, but there is no doubt that Nichols has delivered the perfect story to dissect.
Hoffman stars as Benjamin Braddock, a recent college graduate who is looking for a sense of purpose in his post-schooling life. He inadvertently becomes entangled with the wife of a family friend and soon finds himself stuck in a sex-fueled and motivationless lifestyle. One of the most interesting - not necessarily fantastic - things about the character of Ben is how relatable his actions could have been. This film explores the taboo underbelly of sexual desires by having Ben start an affair with Mrs. Robinson (Anne Bancroft). The narrative seems to suggest that we all have had unconventional crushes at one point or another and that sometimes it is best to just give in to them. However, as much potential as the character of Ben had, it was never fully explored. I personally did not ever care about what happened to him or how much trouble he got in due to his lack of personality. Perhaps that was the point though, to write a character so bland and shapable that a plethora of various backgrounds would be able to relate. Even though I could not care much for the main protagonist, I loved Hoffman's performance. His stoic and passive portrayal of the confused young man hilarious at times as he was the most engaging part of this entire movie.
Mike Nichols' direction and Calder Willingham and Buck Henry's writing did not do this film's potential justice. Especially Willingham and Henry's screenplay, as the overall story of falling in love with Elaine Robinson (Katharine Ross) was unbelievably messy. The fact that Ben was having an affair with her mother and not treating either of the women the way they wanted to be treated was enough to tell me about his true personality. So one must be able to see how let down I was at the conclusion when Elaine finally gave in to Ben's constant stalking and pursuing of her. This movie had the possibility of being a beautiful love story, but instead, it simply muddled up all of these characters' relationships. This movie also, unfortunately, falls into the same category of late 1960's films that seem to have no concise flow. This subgenre of cinema has become irritating to me, but at least The Graduate has some sense of production design.
Technical parts of this movie that I loved were Robert Surtees' characteristic cinematography and Sam O'Steen's unusual editing. The camerawork is very interesting to watch, as Surtees seems to nail the dull and still vibe of this narrative. This is also aided by O'Steen's editing, as it lingers on certain shots for so long, giving the audience an uneasy feeling of what sexual escapade Ben would embark on next. I particularly loved the editing in the first scene between Ben and Mrs. Robinson as she got undressed in the room. The hyper-quick cuts between her breasts and Ben's anxious mannerisms were hilarious and made for a fantastic scene. This film was also set up like a theatrical production, as the sets and locations used were limited but delightful. The one part of this movie that I simply could not tolerate after the first act or so was the repetitive use of Simon and Garfunkel's music. I understand that they were in charge of the soundtrack and their music did help tell the story, but there could have been a much wider choice of score. It was quite annoying to hear the same two or three songs constantly loop in the background during the entire film.
The Graduate is an engaging but often irritating look at the sexual exploration and mischief of one particular young man. While the story did not do a good job of having the audience feel for the main protagonist, Hoffman undoubtedly made up for that with his relentless charisma and smooth, comedic timing. I would recommend this in order to form your own opinion, but it is still beyond me how films like these keep being considered the greatest of all time.
My Rating: ★★½
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