Still a great movie, after all those years

Rating: 9/10 (16 March 2020)

When "The graduate" came out in the sixties it was a real sensation. In the first place in was the second noteworthy film of director Mike Nichols (after "Who is afraid of Virginia Woolf" (1966)). Subsequently Nichols would fall back to a more mediocre director. In the second place it was the breaktrough of lead actor Dustin Hoffman. Finally the music of Simon and Garfunkel.
At the moment "The graduate" is viewed more critically. Was the acting of Dustin Hoffman really that great? Is the movie not terribly dated?
With respect to the way that Dustin Hoffman plays Benjamin Braddock there is a grain of truth. In retrospect Benjamin Braddock seems to be a Raymond Babbitt light ("Rain Man" (1988, Barry Levinson)). It is also difficult to understand why both Mrs Robinson (Anne Bancroft) and her daughter Elaine (Katharine Ross) succumb to the (non existent) charms of the socially awkward Benjamin.
I do however totally disagree with the opinion that "The graduate" is a dated movie. The "graduate" is not a hippie film (like for example "Easy rider" (1969, Dennis Hopper)) but a coming of age movie, and as that not bound to a particular decade. It is a good coming af age movie thereto. It is not about a main character craving for sex. In stead of that Benjamin Braddock is fascinated by sex, fear forming an integral part of that fascination (seducing scene). Benjamin Braddock does not have definite ideas about his future, but he knows for sure it is not the future his parents are planning for him. In the end Benjamin Braddock and Elaine Robinson are sitting in the bus, riding towards a completely unknown future. This open end is both beautiful and in harmony with the ambiance of the rest of the film.
There are other beautiful scenes, like for example the first date of Benjamin and Elaine. Benjamin feels very embarrassed about this date. It is forced upon him by Mr Robinson while at the same time he is having an affair with Mrs Robinson. He cools down his anger by taking revenge on the innocent Elaine. He takes her to striptease bar, not out of habit (such as Travis Bickle with Betsy in "Taxi driver" (1976, Martin Scorsese)) but purposefully being rude. When Elaine asks him why he hates her so and starts to cry, the scene becomes very discomforting and beautiful at the same time.
All in all, "The graduate" is still a great film after all these years. Maybe it is time to recalibrate the contribution that respectively Dustin Hoffman and Anne Bancroft have made to this greatness.