An aggressive 60's movie

Rating: 10/10 (28 December 2005)

Let me start by saying I'm in my mid twenties and "The Graduate" is pretty much out of my chronological frame. Plus I'm not really a fan of 60's cinema.
But this film I've gotten to like. Its a clear abandonment of the innocence of the times that really makes "The Graduate" stand out. There is an unbridled mean-streak among the characters, and the boldness of it I really enjoy. Lead protagonist Ben Braddock is just pathetically eager-to-please and hes hit with exploitation and cruelty wherever he goes. But he goes the extra mile (Bens a track star, no pun intended) to get what he really wants: Elaine Robinson. Anne Brancroft (died recently) is on top billing but this is widely considered to be a Dustin Hoffman film and the story's focus is on Ben. Although its not clear why his uncertainty about his future would lead him to have an affair with the mother of Elaine, Mrs Robinson, an affair of this kind really precursors the Ashton Kutcher-Demi Moore marriage and this whole trend of dating older women.
A little bit of drawback here: the story loses its "graduate in confusion" pretext somewhere along the way, so I was left wondering what Ben's goal really was and what kind of life hes going to live after it (the film) was through. The dated music may be hard to swallow but me being a guitar player with no genre limitation I savor the flavor. All in all, great movie.