Benjamin Braddock has recently
graduated from college. Now faced with seemingly endless opportunities, though
acutely aware that this notion is unequivocally false, he is lost and unable to
face his future in a world that turns innocence and hope into mundane, pessimistic
(soul-crushing) apathy and cynicism. There is a sense that if he does not move
forward the world cannot corrupt him, but that all changes when he is seduced by
one of his parent’s friends, Mrs. Robinson. At first, Benjamin is happy to
engage in this affair (as it seems simple and easy); however, when he meets
Elaine Robinson, Mrs. Robinson’s daughter, everything changes. Finally, there
is something Benjamin wants.
In 1966 director Mike Nichols
announced himself as one of the most exciting new auteur filmmakers, taking
full advantage of Hollywood’s artistic revolution following the collapse of the
production code, with the film Who’s
Afraid of Virginia Woolf? His next film, The Graduate, is even better (and
he won a Best Director Oscar for it). I think it is his best to date (and it is
among my favorite films). Nichols worked with brilliant people on the film,
including cinematographer Robert Surtees
and production designer Richard Sylbert.
Nichols also utilizes the fantastic Simon & Garfunkel album Sounds of
Silence to score the film.
Dustin Hoffman
stars in the film with Anne Bancroft
and Katharine
Ross co-starring. William Daniels,
Murray
Hamilton, and Elizabeth Wilson
feature in support.
The Graduate is one of the most
artistically influential films for modern filmmakers. Nichols in a sense
changed the narrative language of editing to do very interesting and expressive
things. The film also perfectly captures the mood of college graduates facing
the world, hesitant to actually grow-up. The film blends melancholy and comedy
wonderfully, as well – in many ways setting the stage for the rise of the indie
dramedy. This is a must-see for all cinema fans.
Trailer: Here
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