"Would you like me to seduce you?"
Everyone knows the iconic still of Dustin Hoffman and a wedding dress-clad Katharine Ross looking relived and slightly bewildered sitting at the back of a bus. The actors’ expressions in this scene have gone on to become synonymous with Mike Nichols’ 1967 classic The Graduate.
Recent East Coast graduate Benjamin Braddock (Dustin Hoffman), something of an over-achiever at college, returns to his home in the shallowness of white southern Californian suburbia, unsure of where his life is heading and surrounded by “plastics”. Following a family dinner party, Ben is seduced by his parents’ friend Mrs. Robinson (Anne Bancroft), spawning the classic line “Would you like me to seduce you?”. This then develops into a full-blown tremulous affair between the married and much older Mrs. Robinson and the virginal Ben. It soon becomes clear that Mrs. Robinson is in a loveless marriage and is only using Ben for sex. Coerced by his parents, Ben takes Mrs. Robinson’s daughter Elaine (Katharine Ross) out on a date which he intends to sabotage but, against his better judgement, falls for her. Events take a dramatic yet funny turn for the worst when Elaine discovers the ugly truth of the affair, leading up to the film’s famous climax.
Based on the 1963 novel by Charles Webb, The Graduate is characterised by a dominant sexual energy which lingers from scene to scene, reflecting the spirit of the sixties with an underlying element of satire. Ben is a sympathetic anti-hero, a character you can almost see something of yourself in; plagued by inertia, he is a once promising student who now spends his days aimlessly ‘drifting’ – literally and metaphorically - in the swimming pool, out of his depth. Although a landmark role for Hoffman, it is Bancroft who steals the show; her Mrs. Robinson is an engaging and sophisticated temptress never far from the audience’s mind.
Innovative in technique as it is safe in plot, Nichols explored bizarre camera angles, use of music in transitioning scenes and focusing on a particular person or object to create intensity. Often a shot is filmed in almost complete darkness, with characters obscured by objects, or from below, pointing towards the sun. Nudity is mirrored in blink-and-you’ll-miss-it shots and colours are used to contrast the superficiality of LA and the more authentic lifestyle in Berkeley. The unforgettable Grammy-winning soundtrack is provided courtesy of Simon & Garfunkel, popularising the duo’s seminal tune ‘Mrs. Robinson’ and featuring the folksy bliss of ‘Sound of Silence’ and ‘Scarborough Fair’.
Warren French has called The Graduate “the picture of its generation”;
whether you endorse this or brush it off as another hollow art-house film, The Graduate provides us with two
valuable pieces of advice: don’t take your first date to a strip club, and don’t
sleep with your parents’ friends.
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A good review of a very fine film. It also helps that Simon and Garfunkel's music is used too, that's always a bonus.
ReplyDeleteThank you very much! (who doesn't love Simon & Garfunkel?)
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