With another year passing, another summer beginning and a new batch of seniors graduating, let’s talk about possibly the greatest graduation movie ever made: The Graduate (a rather fitting title). This 1967 film directed by Mike Nichols explores themes of youth and alienation from the realities of life, accompanied with a melancholic soundtrack by Simon & Garfunkel.
I am anti-spoiler in pretty much every sense of the word, so this will not be a full movie analysis, but rather my attempt at trying to convince you to watch a movie made in the 1960s, whether you are graduating this year or not. Although the film is about college graduation, it doesn’t actually take place until the main character, Benjamin Braddock (Dustin Hoffman), gets back home after leaving college.
The movie begins with a close up of him sitting on a plane, and it quickly zooms out into a wide shot – he is surrounded by people but all alone. You will quickly learn that the cinematography of this movie is spectacular, especially for a film from the 1960s. The feeling of isolation and separation that pervades the rest of the movie is further set up through Benjamin’s complete lack of dialogue for the first three minutes and 20 seconds of the movie.
Nichols is also a fan of the long take, including a lot of camera movement and few changing angles. The first instance of this can be seen in Ben’s graduation scene, in which the camera pans to follow his face in a close up, barely witnessing the party happening around him. Elements like this create a claustrophobic mood and make you stressed for him. This makes you feel like you’re part of the story, especially when conversing with the infamous Mrs. Robinson (Anne Bancroft), his business partner’s wife. In every interaction he has, Benjamin expresses a general apathy towards his future, which is a feeling that almost anyone can relate to.
Like a leech, Mrs. Robinson immediately starts to feed off of these feelings and get close to him. This moment is when Ben says his iconic line, “Mrs. Robinson, you’re trying to seduce me.” And here is where the drama of the film begins.
With no prospects, no job offers, nothing better to do, Ben starts an affair with Mrs. Robinson, a woman 20 years his senior. After this, a four-minute montage ensues, showing Ben going about his summer. This montage expertly captures the monotony that comes with a summer of no plans, with Ben cycling between drifting in his pool and his meetings with Mrs. Robinson.
His lethargy is overwhelming, preferring to lay around and drink beer instead of doing anything else. This is further reinforced by the constant close-ups on his face, capturing his loneliness. You start to understand the repetitive nature his life has turned to; all he does is lounge, sleep with Mrs. Robinson and swim, again and again.
Northwestern or not, many postgrads need to deal with the question: What are you doing with the rest of your life? In situations like these, I, like many people, end up shutting down instead of being proactive. The Graduate is able to capture this quarter-life crisis like no other, and even if you cannot relate with sleeping with a woman twice your age, you can relate to the feeling of being stunted.
Ben and Mrs. Robinson also end up connecting over these feelings of unrealized potential and regret. A remorseful conversation leaves Mrs. Robinson bitter and agitated. Her daughter, Elaine (Katharine Ross), is brought up, and she demands that Ben never see her. However, you can imagine the turn the story takes.
Through the pressure of his parents, Ben takes Elaine out on a date, where they bond over their shared sense of rebellion and disdain for societal pressures. Both feel the need to have everything figured out, when all they want to do is be free. The narrative helps you relate to the characters; their stress is expressed through rebellious bad decisions, which I think is relatable for a lot of young people. Ultimately, the story becomes reminiscent of a Greek tragedy, where Ben’s fatal flaw – aimlessness – drives his self-destructive actions and downfall.
One of the most unique aspects of the film is how its meaning shifts for viewers of different ages. Younger people tend to relate to it and Ben more because of their similar life situations, but as people age they begin to find the flaws within Ben and see him as reckless. This shift, in turn, creates a different viewing experience every time you watch it, as you age with the movie and experience life more.
The rest of the film continues to have wonderful cinematography and one of the best endings of any movie ever. So few films are able to capture the angst of being a young person in an ever changing world, but this movie does. When Nichols auditioned Robert Redford for the main role, he said, “You can’t play it. You can never play a loser.” And that’s really the true thesis of the film. Benjamin Braddock is a loser, but aren’t we all?
