THE GRADUATE -- Movie Review by Porfle

 

Originally posted on 4/24/21

 

Currently rewatching: THE GRADUATE (1967). Finally got this on DVD.

This is the story of a confused young college graduate named Benjamin (Dustin Hoffman in his star-making performance) who is taken advantage of by a sexually frustrated upper-class wife named Mrs. Robinson (Anne Bancroft).

Benjamin's sordid affair with her lasts until her daughter Elaine (Katherine Ross) comes home from college for a visit and Benjamin falls in love with her. 

 

Livid at the thought of him with her daughter, Mrs. Robinson then does her best to drive them apart and ruin Benjamin's life, even planning a quickie marriage for Elaine that Benjamin races against the clock to stop before it's too late.

My big sister took me to the drive-in to see this when it came out. She was always taking me to movies that were "Suggested For Mature Audiences" (there was no rating system yet) which gave me a head start on my cinematic education.

When I bought my very first VCR in 1981 there were no video stores in town yet, but the appliance dealer had a small shelf of movies on videotape (an novel and exciting concept) and gave me two free rentals.

 

I rented "Where's Poppa?" and "The Graduate." The latter was the very first thing I ever showed on a TV after I hooked up my new VCR.

It's still one of the most brilliantly written, directed, and acted comedy-dramas of all time.

Hilarious, yet deeply moving, it's a prime example of the exciting and wildly innovative new kind of cinema--both technically and thematically--that was being created by pioneer filmmakers in the late 60s. 

 

 

 

Simon and Garfunkel's now-classic songs "Sounds of Silence" and "Scarborough Fair" accentuate the film's moments of melancholy and introspection, while the jaunty "Mrs. Robinson" fuels Benjamin's frantic search for Elaine during the breakneck finale.

The last 20 minutes or so of the movie in particular are simply dazzling, building to a suspenseful and somewhat shocking ending that still leaves the viewer breathless and disoriented.

Director Mike Nichols was the comedy partner of the equally brilliant Elaine May, who wrote, directed, and starred in another of my all-time favorite comedies, A NEW LEAF. They were quite a creative team.

One of the best films of the 60s or any era, THE GRADUATE is a must-see that's just as fresh now as the day it was released.