The Graduate
Directed by Mike Nichols
Written by Buck Henry and Calder Willingham from a novel by Charles Webb
1967/USA
Lawrence Turman
Repeat viewing/my DVD collection
One of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die
[box] Mr. Braddock: Ben, what are you doing?
Benjamin: Well, I would say that I’m just drifting. Here in the pool.[/box]
Loved this movie when I saw it in high school and love it still. Maybe you had to be there.
Benjamin Braddock (Dustin Hoffman) returns home to Beverly Hills after earning his Bachelor’s degree. He is completely adrift. None of the alternative futures his parents are imagining for him – “plastics”, graduate school, marriage into their set – appeals in the least. But at his welcoming home party, Mrs. Robinson presents herself as a diversion from his alienation. She is the wife of his father’s partner and seduces him without pretense or qualms. He eventually gives in. Neither’s heart is engaged.
Act II begins when Benjamin’s parents and Mr. Robinson all insist that Ben take Elaine Robinson out. He finds himself more or less forced to despite the fierce resistance of his older lover. Things get worse when he falls in love with Elaine.
The Criterion Blu-Ray is loaded with features and I binged on both commentaries and the film yesterday. Stephen Soderbergh interviews Mike Nichols in one of them and the director provides many stories and insights. The plot description doesn’t convey just how funny and biting the story is. The camera work and directorial style are also unlike anything we had seen before. Highly recommended.
Mike Nichols won the Academy Award for Best Director. The film was nominated in the categories of Best Picture; Best Actor; Best Actress (Bancroft); Best Supporting Actress (Ross); Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium; and Best Cinematography. According to IMDb, this was the last time a film won for Best Director and failed to garner any other awards.
