rating:
(out of
4 stars)United States; 1967
Directed by Mike Nichols; produced by Lawrence Turman; screenplay by Calder Willingham, Buck Henry
Starring Dustin Hoffman, Anne Bancroft, Katharine Ross, William Daniels, Murray Hamilton, Elizabeth Wilson
Below you will find a temporary review for this film. The real (better, more complete) review will be online very soon.
'The Graduate' still feels fresh although it was made in the sixties. It
tells the story of Mrs. Robinson (Anne Bancroft) who seduces graduate Ben
Braddock (Dustin Hoffman). She could be his mother and indeed Mrs. Robinson
has a daughter named Elaine (Katharine Ross) who is Ben's age. After Mrs.
Robinson and Ben has shared the bed for a while he has to go on a date with
Elaine because his parents force him. Mrs. Robinson is not happy, even less
when Ben and Elaine start liking each other.
This classic film from director Mike Nichols, his second movie after the
great 'Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf', may have lost its strength in some
scenes but other great moments make up for that. The first time we meet Ben,
just graduated on a party, every single one wants to speak to him and he is
getting really tired of them all. He tries to lose them all and that ends up
with having the first encounter with Mrs. Robinson. This leads up to the
best known scene with the most memorable line from this film. The second
party is on Ben's birthday. His must show his present which gives us a
hilarious scene. Considering the first party he finds his peace at last,
although probably not the way he wanted it.
Little things like this make this movie entertaining. The strong acting from
both Hoffman and Bancroft also help. Especially the early scenes from
Bancroft are terrific. They make us understand why Ben just has to do what
he does, also telling us that Ben is not the strongest person in the world.
Ross is quite nice too, although her character is pretty forgettable. If Ben
would have chosen for Mrs. Robinson instead of the daughter it would
probably have been more believable.
The music from Simon & Garfunkel is great, although it does not add
something to the film really. Because three well known songs ('Mrs.
Robinson', 'The Sound of Silence' and 'Scarborough Fair') play over and over
again some people will get tired of it after a while. I liked the songs
enough to not have that problem.
Overall I think this is a great film, with only the ending as really
implausible, although I must admit I liked it this way. Even if it has
flaws, even if it is a little dated at times, it feels fresh and is more
entertaining than most films today.