THE GRADUATE (1967) – Graduation, Life AND Plastics
iView Author:Rusted Rick
(Kolkatta, India)
EMAIL: ritchick.mozumdar [at] gmail [dot] com
Title: THE GRADUATE (1967) – Graduation, Life AND Plastics
In many ways THE GRADUATE is one of the most important films to come out of Hollywood in the last 40 years. It was the first ever teen comedy to receive both critical as well as box office success. It started the trend of using songs which are already released in the film. It brought to light the singers Simon and Garfunkel. And in many ways it was the coming of age of the director Mike Nichols. But more than any of that it is important because it truly introduced to the world for the first time DUSTIN HOFFMAN. Hoffman who prior to this had done mostly television work was cast in the lead role of Benjamin Braddock, the nerdy college graduate being seduced by a much elderly Mrs. Robinson, played magnificently by Anne Bancroft. But Benjamin falls in love with her daughter instead, and what follows after that is a perfect mixture of comedy and drama. All ultimately leading to a wonderfully melodramatic climax in a church.
Maybe the very bollywoodish nature of this climax is one of those reasons why I love this movie so much. The main aspect of the movie that stood out to me was the sense of drowning in your own life. He just graduated from college and he had no plans, his whole life had been planned. One gets this sense with all the water in the film. The fish tank in his room that one sees behind his head in many scenes, or you see him through in many scenes; he is constantly lounging in the pool or swimming, or when his parents by him the scuba gear and force him to try it out for everyone. He’s looking for an escape from his parent’s way of life and from what society and everyone expects from him. In Mrs. Robinson he finds this escape, but later realizes he was being stupid and selfish when he falls in love with Elaine.
This is where the story becomes about redemption. Benjamin will go to any length to get Elaine back, even if it means interrupting her wedding. On the way out of the church he uses a cross to lock everyone in the church, leaving “tradition” behind and moving onto something new in his life. In the last shot of Ben and Elaine you can initially see their excitement but as the camera holds we see reality setting in. I guess the story of Benjamin is true for many of us, and that’s why it is so relatable and its popularity sustained even more than 40 years of its release.
On the technical front the highlight would always remain with the cinematography by ROBERT SURTEES (ben-hur, Oklahoma, King Solomon’s mine). Almost every trick that can be done with a camera can be seen here, right from the wonderful opening scene to the one in which Benjamin visits Mrs. Robinson’s house for the first time. SURTEES who was nominated for an academy award for the film remains till date one of the finest cinematographers in Hollywood and the graduate one of his finest achievements. MIKE NICHOLS who had an academy award nomination for direction the previous year got the Oscar for THE GRADUATE. His direction remains simple yet very modern and stylistic, a characteristic which remained with the rest of his films. The screenplay is crisp yet it gives our confused protagonist as well as the audience time to ponder. Having read it a week back I’ll admit it is as entertaining as the film itself if not slightly more. Lines like “Mrs. Robinson, you’re trying to seduce me” and “PLASTICS” have achieved immortality with time. But my favorite line of the film has to be when MR. Braddock asks Benjamin “Would you mind telling me then what those four years of college were for? What was the point of all that hard work?” and Benjamin after thinking for a while replies “You got me”.
The great thing about the film is that it is inertly so very complex yet it seems very simplistic and fun which cannot be said for most films which are being made these days. Years after I saw it for the first time THE GRADUATE remains one of my favorite films, one with which I can relate to even more as am preparing for college next year.
Anurag Kashyap
Abhay Deol
Dibakar Banerjee
Hansal Mehta
Khalid Mohamed
Kundan Shah
Anish Kuruvilla
Jaideep Verma
Manish Gupta
Navdeep Singh
Bhavani Iyer
D. Santosh
Onir
Ashvin Kumar
Ramu Ramanathan
Sudhir Mishra
Pankaj Advani
Revathy
Saurabh Shukla
Shilpa Shukla
Sujoy Ghosh
Suparn Verma
Santosh Sivan
Shashank Ghosh
Shivajee
Pavan Kaul
Partho Sen-Gupta
Prroshant Naryannan
Sam Langoria
Satish Kasetty
Beautiful movie…the haunting simon and garfunkel soundtrack “Sounds of Silence”..What an opening scene.Focus on Dustin Hoffman in the aircraft and then pull back..the escalator scene…the first 45-50 mins could show the existential which Hoffman was going through..awsome…I believe dustin Hoffman was in his 30s when he did that..correct me if am wrong.
Sourav
Hoffman indeed was 30 yrs when this film released.Directed by the great Mike Nichols who made Closer and Charlie Wilson’s War.
Maybe since a lot of movies made after The graduate had similar themes and similar teen-romance stuff..i didnt find the graduate very exciting or worth all the wait…i found everything pretty nice yet usual ok-ok.except the marvelous use of “sound of silence”….as my mate says “it’ll always be the movie that started the trend” but somehow it didnt click for me..
@SUPRABH
i think the reason you didnt find the graduate very interesting because you went in to see it with an idea that it would be like the other hollywood romance and stuff, i think you should try watching it again and this time try focussing on the little hidden details, like all the womb references and other metaphors. this is a very common problem with most people who watch the film for the first time.
i think if you understand the hidden underlying meanings a bit more you’ll find the film lot more interesting.
cheers.
@rusted
except that i found it in the IMDB top 250 (crap list) :D …still i think you tried to temme something and sure i’ll watch it again as and when i get a chance..will definitely try to work on ur advice
mate..i didnt have any idea abt the movie when i sat to watch it..
cheers to u too