My top 30 films - No.21

21. The Graduate (1967) - "This is Benjamin. He's a little worried about his future."

When this film was released, people called it "daring" and "scandalous". It was revolutionary; no one had ever made a film like this before. These kind of films would be common nowadays. Basically, it's all about sex.

Before, I said that Control was Sam Riley's breakthrough performance. The Graduate was the same for Dustin Hoffman (Kramer vs. Kramer, Rain Man and Midnight Cowboy). He plays Benjamin Braddock, who at the beginning of the film has just graduated from college, but doesn't have any ideas of what to do next. He ends up giving a lift home to friend of the family, Mrs. Robinson (Anne Bancroft (The Elephant Man)), but she asks him to come inside. You want to know what happens next? I'll just say this - "Mrs. Robinson, you're trying to seduce me... Aren't you?" Mrs. Robinson decides she wants to have an affair with Benjamin and they spend a lot of their time together in hotel rooms at night. However, his parents are concerned about the fact all he does all day is laze about in the pool. They and Mr. Robinson arrange a date between Benjamin and Elaine Robinson (Katherine Ross (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and The Stepford Wives)), much to Mrs. Robinson's distaste.

Dustin Hoffman is brilliant in this movie. Benjamin starts in his own little world and is oblivious to everyone in the opening scenes. He wants to be by himself, but when he is with Mrs. Robinson he is unfamiliar territory, due to his lack of relationship experience. There is an unforced awkwardness to several of Benjamin's mannerisms which is appealing. Apparently director Mike Nichols told Hoffman to "play the part without acting". If it is true that Jack Nicholson was considered for the role, think how everything would be different now. Personally, I cannot see Dustin Hoffman in The Shining or One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest. Anne Bancroft is very good at portraying Mrs. Robinson; you can see that she has reached the end of the road with her marriage and she has turned to alcohol and wanting an affair with someone. Katherine Ross is essentially the nice girl the audience wants Benjamin to fall for, yet she doesn't know that he has had an affair with her mother.

The best thing about this film, by miles, is the music. It is basically the greatest hits of Simon & Garfunkel, minus Bridge Over Troubled Water because that was released in the 70s. Mrs. Robinson was written for this movie and Simon & Garfunkel were already loved by millions for works such as Scarborough Fair/Canticle and The Sound of Silence. They used their popularity was a selling point to the film. If a modern day band tried that, the movie would be rubbish.

This film is a classic, yet like many it was overlooked by the Academy Awards, who were in favour of In the Heat of the Night. However, Mike Nichols did win Best Director and the American Film Institute ranked this as the #17 Greatest Movie of All Time in 2007. The image at the top is perhaps one of the greatest images in cinema history; it's iconic. This film appeals to everyone. Ultimately we have all or will all be in the same situation as Benjamin. You've graduated and you have no idea what to do with your future. Do you want a career in "Plastics"?