"You aren't one of those agitators, are you?"

Rating: 7/10 (4 December 2014)

My favorite thing about this film is the way in which I connect with Ben. Just having graduated, he faces the daunting task of moving forward from his academic career, but with no idea of what he wants to do next. I'm facing the same crisis. Months away from graduating, I face the same difficult decision as Ben. I have no idea what I want to do with my life. What I love most about this connection I had with the main character is, despite it all, I don't find Ben relatable whatsoever, and I think that's absolutely hilarious.
The Graduate's great sense of humor is personified wonderfully by its leading man Dustin Hoffman. He's a handsome guy, much better looking than me, and I envy that, but he manages to gives his character Ben a remarkable awkwardness. It's his performance that gives the events in the film weight. He presents himself as the type of person that could really cause these types of ridiculous situations. It's not enough to make you feel like these things could actually happen, but just enough to give it a relate verisimilitude as a film. Bonus points to me for that wonderful use of narrative jargon.
The film has plenty of flaws, however. The most prominent of which being the accompanying soundtrack. I have to imagine Mike Nichols was dangerously high when he decided it would be a great idea to use the same handful of Simon and Garfunkel songs dozens of times throughout the film. The narrative structure of the film also bothered me a bit. It spends quite a lot of time on Ben's affair with Mrs. Robinson, which is good by itself, Anne Bancroft gives an excellent performance, but it doesn't leave enough room for the rest of the story. Ben's relationship with Elaine Robinson is so rushed that the film takes a big hit. The second half of the film always influences an opinion of the film more so than the first, it's fresher in your mind, it's what you're dwelling on when the film ends. The rushed nature of their relationship is obviously intentional, as evidenced by the final scene, but that doesn't necessarily mean it works.
All in all, The Graduate is a completely unique film, and that's why people love it. It doesn't have to conform, so it doesn't, and that's something to be admired. I know I enjoyed it, but I'm not really sure of my final verdict on the film, and the thing is, I didn't really need to be to write about it. That's something not many films can do.