A Film That Stands The Test of Time

Rating: 8/10 (15 August 2009)

Benjamin Braddock (Dustin Hoffman) is seduced by his parents' friend, Mrs. Robinson (Anne Bancroft). If that's not bad enough, Ben soon falls for her daughter, Elaine (Katharine Ross), and life around Ben begins to collapse. Where is he to turn?
Now, I could heap praise on this film. Sure, why not? AFI likes it, the IMDb likes it, everyone more or less knows it's a classic, parodied by Will Ferrell, "Wayne's World" and Jon Secada, among others. So, I'm not going to talk about the stellar acting or directing (Mike Nichols does few films, but has some amazing ones)... because everyone does that.
What I want to ask is this: who is the hero of this film? Roger Ebert reviewed this film twice -- once in 1967 and again in 1997. Originally, he sided with Ben Braddock, but upon reflection understood that the interesting character is Mrs. Robinson. I have to wonder, is anyone in this film worth rooting for? Ben is a shiftless, lazy homebody who takes a college career and squanders it. When confronted with the offer of a sexual liaison, despite knowing it's a bad idea, allows it to consume him. He goes on to fall in love with a girl who he has, as near as I can tell, only taken on one date, and chooses to marry her rather than pursue school, a job or other women. He then brings shame on the entire Robinson family.
Mrs. Robinson, who has no first name and thus no identity apart from being a wife, is a cultured woman who fell into the trap of marriage. We can sympathize with her for this, but where she takes it seems foolish and spiteful. If she wanted an affair, other men would have made more rational choices. She tears apart her family, pits the Braddocks against the Robinsons, and rather than help set up her daughter with Ben, prematurely ruins their chances.
Elaine Robinson is odd. College educated, she comes off as daft. She dates and nearly marries a man, then just as quickly flees him. Like her mother, she seems to throw away education and freedom for married life. She tends to be attracted to Ben, even after knowing about his affair, which would normally be a deal breaker. She appears the victim in all this, but is not really a deep enough character to really identity with.
In short, this is a tragedy disguised as a comedy. There are darkly humorous moments and a light-hearted ending, but things seem to end poorly for everyone involved -- even Ben and Elaine are unlikely to find true love once they finally set about together. What a mess.