This movie was an unexpected hit in 1967, which itself was an odd moment in US history. It is the story of Benjamin Braddock (Dustin Hoffman,) an almost-21-year-old college graduate who comes home to his parents' house and is asked continually what he wants to do with his life.
He is unmoved when an older fellow offers a suggestion in the film's most famous scene, below.
The most Benjamin can say about his plans for his adult life is this: "I want it to be -- different."
He spends his summer staring at exotic fish in a tank in the basement and then becoming a sort of fish himself -- wading into the backyard pool in the scuba outfit that his parents have given him as a graduation present.
A family friend, Mrs. Robinson (Anne Bancroft,) seduces Benjamin, and they embark on a clandestine affair that seems to help him get over his extreme and extremely funny awkwardness, even if he does start smoking cigarettes, as she does.
But then the Robinsons' daughter, Elaine (Katharine Ross,) comes home from college and Benjamin is drawn to her -- against the adamant opposition of her mother.
Finally, he chooses the daughter, the only person near his age in the story. He comes to life and pursues Elaine with great energy and against considerable odds.
In the end, Benjamin and Elaine choose each other -- effectively deciding not to be their middle-aged parents -- before they have worked out whom they plan to be instead.
The film has much going for it: a fine screenplay with plenty of humor, excellent acting and Oscar-winning direction by Mike Nichols.
You've probably seen it once, but it's fun to watch again.
Note
The Graduate has remained popular since its release, and there was talk of a remake around the time of its 50th anniversary. The idea was rejected, and no doubt for good reason.
The movie is understood best as an icon of its moment. Benjamin, who often wears a jacket and tie, looks like his parents and is cordial toward their friends. But his restlessness suggests the discomfort that was rising among the first wave of Baby Boomers who were coming of age about the time the film hit theaters.
John F. Kennedy was assassinated during Benjamin's first college semester. When he and Elaine ran away, their generation had begun to agitate against the Vietnam War. The following year came the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy. The early-60s Beatles pop music they had enjoyed as teenagers gave way to Woodstock and the rock- and drug-inflected Easy Rider movie of 1969. The Beatles broke up in 1970.
The movie doesn't go into the generational differences between Ben and his parents, but that probably wasn't necessary in 1967. Mr. and Mrs. Braddock's early years were marked by the stresses of the Depression and World War II. By the time they got around to having a family, life must have looked better than anything they had seen before. The GI Bill made college affordable, and nearly 20 years of pent-up demand fueled a period of prosperity that continued into the 1970s.
No wonder Ben's parents were expecting great things for him. No wonder he didn't understand why they were so optimistic.
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For all its light moments, The Graduate has an undertone of what Woody Allen used to call "heaviosity." Its music, from Simon and Garfunkel, is folky and melodious, but the song that starts and ends the film, "The Sounds of Silence," has a tone and lyrics that are downright ominous.
The song was written by Paul Simon when he was 21 and worried about totalitarian government, and perhaps when he was like Benjamin Braddock and unsure of himself but more articulate than Ben himself.
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