Are you trying to seduce me? (The Graduate (DVD))

Member Name: shaneo632

Product:	The Graduate (DVD)
Date:	01/07/09 (1 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great cast, music and script

Disadvantages: None

For anyone that has been to University, Mike Nichols' oddysey into the existential unknown is a must-see, particularly if you've just completed your degree (as I myself have). It deals with the seemingly empty milieu that follows graduation, as protagonist Benjamin Braddock (Dustin Hoffman) must decide what to do next with his life, amid a sexual encounter with his former teacher Mrs. Robinson, played iconically by the departed Anne Bancroft. Further complicating manners is Mrs. Robinson's daughter, Elaine (Katharine Ross), who Braddock has conflicted feelings for, torn between the experienced old woman and the sweet girl that's his age.

It's a quintessentially sixties film for sure, but has aged incredibly well, and was recently cited in an interview with Steven Speilberg as containing his favourite scene of all time, as Braddock goes swimming whilst music from Simon and Garfunkel plays in the background. It's meditative, and has a lot more depth than it's often given credit for - it is far from the simple and rambunctious teen comedy that some assume it to be from the seductive front cover.

It's a film that's also lent unremitting buoyancy by the counter cultural upheaval of the late sixties and early seventies - the uncertainty of Braddock's life also reflects the uncertainty of those times, with the tepid onset of liberalism over the previously conservative tangent. The numerous instances where Braddock stares into the distance, his face neither happy nor sad, but simply conflicted, is indicative of how the future is not set, no matter how much you think it is, or in the case of Braddock, those around you think it is (for his parents are very controlling).

An enduring classic thanks to the inspired casting of Dustin Hoffman and Anne Bancroft, as well as some highly iconic scenes accompanied by memorable songs. This existential meditation on the post-University life is as relevant now as it was in 1967.

Summary: It has aged very well and is still very funny