"Mrs. Robinson, you're trying to seduce me. Aren't you?"

Rating: Null/10 (27 January 2006)

We all know those famous lines from what has now become a classic in American Cinema, "Mrs. Robinson, you're trying to seduce me. Aren't you?" These famous words were spoken by the nervous and confused Benjamin Braddock (Dustin Hoffman) in "The Graduate." "The Graduate" is a story about a young college graduate who gets involved with the wife of his father's business partner, Mr. Robinson. Indeed, Mrs. Robinson (Anne Bancroft) was trying to seduce Benjamin Braddock. After a coming home party thrown for him by his parents, Benjamin is asked by Mrs. Robinson to drive her home. Benjamin reluctantly accepts and takes her home. Eventually, she gets him into a situation where she corners him while in the nude. Benjamin is surprised and confused but refuses to have sex with Mrs. Robinson. This does not last long though.
Braddock is confused about what he wants to do with his life. He is unsure about his future and everyone around him is pushing him to do certain things. His parents want him to think about graduate school and his future. Benjamin just wants to be alone and contemplate his future without being pressured into doing anything. The film is shot in a very claustrophobic manner. The opening sequence at the party is done with a hand-held camera with extreme close-ups. The audience gets a sense of claustrophobia when they are put into Benjamin's shoes. Besides his parents, Benjamin is also pushed around by Mrs. Robinson, Mr. Robinson, and later, his proprietor at Berkley. Benjamin uses the impending love affair between himself and Mrs. Robinson as a kind of escape or release. He is doing something he knows is wrong but he has an urge to rebel against everyone around him.
It seems that escape is a major theme in the film. Water is used as a means of escape. Benjamin is always staring into his aquarium or lounging by the pool. There is a scene when Benjamin is in a scuba suit his parents bought for him. The audience is put in the suit with Benjamin and we, like Benjamin, cannot here anyone talking to him. We see his parents and others speaking to him but we cannot here them. When he finally enters the pool in the suit, we see him alone in the water and it appears he is finally at peace. Directly after this sequence, Benjamin decides to have the affair with Mrs. Robinson. Things become complicated when Mrs. Robinson's daughter, Elaine, comes into the mix. Benjamin is told by his parents to take Elaine on a date, which is something Mrs. Robinson is not in favor. Benjamin ends up really liking, and eventually, loving Elaine. Now Benjamin must choose between a rebellious love affair with Mrs. Robinson and true love with her daughter. The ensuing madness is unforgettable in cinematic history.
"The Graduate" is a classic by our standards today but quite revolutionary when it was released in 1967. It touched on subjects that might have considered being taboo in the 1960s. A movie about a love affair between a student and an older woman, this was unheard of in the film industry. The directing (Mike Nichols) is astounding with great performances by Anne Bancroft and Dustin Hoffman. A good film about the confusion and alienation that young people can have and how feelings such as those are dealt.