Benjamin Braddock has just graduated college and is having a hard time figuring out his future.

Rating: Null/10 (28 October 2011)

"I don't knowI want my future to bedifferent," Benjamin says, as he talks to his father worriedly about his uncertainty of what to do with his life now that college is over. His summer takes a rather interesting turn when, after his welcome-home party, Mrs. Robinson, a middle- aged family friend of the Braddock's, requests that Benjamin drive her home. Once there, she lures him inside and begins to seduce him; this seduction is made rather apparent not only by the use of diegetic mood music, but more so by the unforgettable under-the-leg shot. Before he knows it, he's trapped in a room with a naked Mrs. Robinson, offering her body to him, for use now and in the future. Shocked and confused, Benjamin manages to escape. Benjamin ends up taking Mrs. Robinson up on her offer and they maintain a steady affair for a few months, until he, against Mrs. Robinson's strict requests, takes her daughter, Elaine, out and falls in love with her. Benjamin then finds himself in a very undesirable position where he struggles to please just about everyone.
Upon his arrival at the hotel for his first affair with Mrs. Robinson, the receptionist innocently asks Benjamin, "Are you here for an affair, sir?" Feeling nervous and guilty, he is utterly speechless. "The Singleman party, sir?" And with a sigh of relief from Benjamin, "Ah, yes, the Singleman party." Obviously the chances that a desk clerk would use the word "affair" instead of something like "event," or that the name of the party host would be "Singleman" are slim; this emphasizes the magnitude of Benjamin's conscience and his discomfort in the situation. Dustin Hoffman does a wonderful job portraying Benjamin Braddock as a naïve, awkward twenty-year- old who's having troubles finding himself. His facial expressions alone have the ability to make us squirm in our seats as we watch him interact with the other characters in uncomfortable situations. Benjamin seems to be having a bit of an identity crisis, but usually just when it comes to his naughty side. We are able to see that he clearly feels some outside pressure to act a certain way, but doesn't feel comfortable in his own skin, so he has trouble mustering up the will power to overcome this pressure by himself.
Mrs. Robinson, played by Anne Bancroft, also plays a convincing role as the selfish, sex- deprived, middle-aged woman with whom Benjamin has the affair. She inevitably plays a large part in his new lifestyle and once we get a taste of who she is, in light of Benjamin's character, it is not hard to see how she manipulated him so easily; she managed to strip any innocence that Benjamin had left in him. She firmly holds the reigns of their relationship and is able to get him to do almost anything, upon an insistent request. Mrs. Robinson appears to have regrets about her past and as a result, attempts to drag anyone she can manage into her bitter world so she doesn't have to suffer alone. She succeeds with Benjamin for a while, but as soon as he comes free, she tries to her daughter in the last lines of the movie, saying, "Elaine, it's too late!" but Elaine stands her ground: "Not for me!" Both Benjamin and Elaine move on with their lives, leaving Mrs. Robinson in the dust. Through this, the film does a wonderful job of representing the incompatibility between young and old because of the newly increased "generation gap."
Just like the scuba diver figurine in the fish tank in his room, Benjamin seems to be caught inside a glass display for everyone–especially adults–to see and he struggles to escape it. This image is recurrent throughout the film, first with the fish tank and later as we find him twice in a telephone booth as he talks to Mrs. Robinson. Another scene that represents his unwanted position in the spotlight is when his father has bought him a scuba suit for his birthday and insists that Benjamin model it for the crowd of eager adults. This scene provides a memorable– inside-the-goggles–point of view shot, where the audience can hear only his breathing. This gives us a good feel for the suffocation Benjamin feels under the relentless control of his parents as he reluctantly walks toward the pool to test his new gear. Once again, he is on the inside of the "glass" for all to see. He hesitantly enters the pool, using the stairs to gradually make his way under water. At first we can see his resistance to getting in the pool, but as time progresses, he spends more and more time in the pool, never apprehensive to simply dive in and enjoy it. This scene is the first of many involving the pool, which seems to represent Benjamin's transition to independence, especially when it comes to his affair and how he changes as a result of it. In the same way, during his affair, he starts out very timid and nervous, but as time passes, it becomes a normal part of his life.
The Graduate is definitely a well-acclaimed movie, having received many acting and film nominations. It portrays the "generation gap" in an unforgettable way through the relationships Benjamin has with a mother and her daughter. As we witness Benjamin's journey, it is easy to feel as though he's going in the right direction, but after an ambiguous ending, we are forced to decide if this new, revolutionary way of life is a productive one. Because this film is over four decades old, it is no surprise that it often gets overlooked by the average movie viewer in search of a good Friday night movie, but I would challenge you to consider giving yourself a chance to join Benjamin on his journey to independence in this ageless story that, at it's peak in 1967, had so many people enthralled.