Great performances for a familiar feeling.

Rating: Null/10 (29 July 2011)

The film, The Graduate, is a film about figuring out your place in the world. The Graduate starts out with Ben Braddock, played by Dustin Hoffman, just graduating from his under graduate work in college. At his graduation party he seems unhappy and lost. All Ben wants to do is talk to somebody about his future and his uncertainties. However, everybody else seems to know what Ben should be doing. The story unfolds with a universal plot that most people can relate to. The Graduate is about discovering what you want and trying to find a place where you belong. Ben does not know what to do after graduating from college. He does not seem to want to go to grad school like his father wants him to. He does not want to get just any job like people at his graduation party want him to do. He seems lost. This is something that happens to young adults entering the world on their own. Mrs. Robinson, played by Anne Bancroft, is a middle aged woman who is friends with Ben's parents. Mrs. Robinson has Ben drive her home from the party, when they arrive at her house she tries to seduce Ben. Ben is reluctant at first, but they eventually have an affair. This is where the movie has a unique spin on a common theme. Ben doesn't know why he is having an affair with Mrs. Robinson. The way the film is edited to show how much time passes between the two characters is unique. It's done almost as a montage. Ben walks through a door in his house to end up in a room at a hotel. Ben will lie on the bed at the hotel to get up from the bed back in his room at home. Eventually Ben learns what he really wants and he is not going to let anything get in his way. He falls in love with Mrs. Robinson's daughter Elaine, who is played by Katharine Ross. Ben must overcome several obstacles in order to win Elaine over. She goes to school far away at Berkley; Elaine is seeing someone else while at school and Mrs. Robinson forbids Ben to see Elaine. Ben takes a leap of faith, moves out of his parent's house, and goes after Elaine at Berkley. The common feeling that everyone has of uncertainty and their place is the world is what makes this film a timeless classic. The lengths that Ben goes to, to try and win Elaine over is where modern audiences might have a problem with the film.