One of cinema's greatest coming of age tales

Rating: 10/10 (29 July 2008)

What makes a movie great? Is it a timeless appeal, continued relevance year after year after year? Is it iconic performances, forever immortalized on screen? Or is it that feeling we get, a realization that we're watching something very special? 'The Graduate' falls under any one of these categories and much more. It was released in 1967 but could pass as a film made forty years later, eloquently tackling the troubles and frustration of young adulthood.
There's a subtle and tactful atmosphere that surrounds 'The Graduate', a film not always ripe with words and talk but heavy and thick with emotion and unease. Dustin Hoffman so perfectly captures the 'what now?' feeling about the game of life, an undeniably intelligent young man but with no sense of direction, no sense of meaning. It's a state of mind many of us, if not all of us, can relate to strikingly well. His character is fascinatingly complex, standing alone at one of life's many crossroads with confusion, desperation, anger, and loneliness. The dreamlike sequence before Hoffman's first sexual encounter with Mrs. Robinson is absolutely stunning and powerful, a visionary moment that speaks profoundly.
It's Anne Bancroft who steals the show with her enticingly sultry turn as Mrs. Robinson, Hoffman's seductress at least twice his age. Her sensuous elegance, the dangerous game of risk. She captures Hoffman in the palm of her hand, but beneath the surface, there's a lifetime of hurt and loneliness. A hole that can't be filled by physical pleasures, no matter how hard she tries. We feel for her, but at the same time, we hate her. Does all the blame rest squarely on her shoulders? No, it takes two to tango. But she plays her devilish hand with a shrewd nastiness that makes 'The Graduate' such a compelling picture.
Mike Nichols created his masterpiece with 'The Graduate', a phenomenal effort riddled with comedy, drama, romance, heartbreak, and an ending that touches the perfect note. The film's execution is precise and genius, while Simon and Garfunkel's legendary soundtrack launches 'The Graduate' into cinematic immortality. It captures a feeling that resonated so well with younger audiences back in the 60s, and it's still working its magic to this day. Here's to you, Mrs. Robinson. And thanks for a great film.
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