The Graduate (1967) - film review

20 year old Ben returns to his parents’ home after graduating and wonders what to do with his life.  Before he realises what is happening, he is seduced by Mrs Robinson, the middle-aged wife of his father’s business partner and is drawn into a compulsive but passionless love affair.  Prompted by his well-meaning parents, Ben ends up dating Mrs Robinson’s daughter, Elaine, despite having promised his older mistress that he would never do this.  When Mrs Robinson finds out, she is not very happy…

The Graduate vividly evokes the era from which it emerged, a time of great social change in America.  Subversive, sexy and deliciously funny, the film can be viewed in retrospect as an incitement to rebel against the conventions of the past, and to live for the present.    Far from condoning hedonism, the film shows the dangers of the repressed bourgeois life-style and suggests we would all be better off following our instincts and doing what our heart tells us rather than simply doing what we think society expect of us to.

When it was first released, The Graduate was an astonishing box office success, mainly because it fitted the mood of the time so well.   Simon and Garfunkel, whose music accompanies much of the film, became hugely successful as a result.  The film continues to enjoy a popular following with successive generations of film enthusiasts, making it probably one of the most important films made in Hollywood in the 1960s.

From the first scene to the last, The Graduate is a near-faultless piece of cinema, from all angles.  The acting is impeccable, particularly Anne Bancroft’s mercilessly seductive Mrs Robinson and Dustin Hoffman’s terminally gauche but loveable Ben.  The film marked Hoffman’s screen debut and brought him overnight celebrity.

Mike Nichols’ direction could hardly be improved on, and he is particularly well served by his talented photography director Robert Surtees and an excellent script.  The film shows a rare genius for spontaneous comedy, with some brilliant casual one-liners and many hilarious scenes (in fact, too many to list).

The Graduate is a great film that deserves its iconic status, whether it is regarded as a symbol of adolescent rebellion, a sophisticated satire of middle class sensibilities, a morality tale about true love or simply a great romantic comedy.  The film is just as relevant today – and also as endearingly funny – as when it was first released.

© James Travers 2000

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