First act, nearly flawless. Hoffman and Bancroft do wonders in those first scenes together, from the seduction, to the hotel book-in, to the "conversation", to the parent's words, to Hoffman himself and his insecurities about life, to even the first date with Elaine, the script captures the dialogue between these people perfectly and for a while there I was sure I was going to come on here raving.

Second and third act, it... all goes to hell? After the Robinson affair ends, what we have is 2/3s of the film consisting of Benjamin following around and trying to woo Elaine. The biggest problem, is that I never bought into the Ben/Elaine relationship whatsoever. He goes on one date with her, it's easy to see her would like her, but to be obsessed and hell-bent on marrying her in love with her? After just that? Considering she has about 5 lines on the date, you never really learn much about Elaine at all in the film, there's nothing unique or special around this person, she's a pretty face.. The lack of anything for her to do, combined with Katharine Ross not being that great an actress, makes her more boring than anything.

The usage of marriage is tossed around way too lightly in these acts, as Elaine hops around accepting marriage proposals from multiple people like it's nothing. I was also hoping for more in the plot than Benjamin simply following her around then rushing her wedding, the end. The wedding scene. itself was ridiculously over the top as well.

Benjamin's inner struggles and his insecurites disappear. He doesn't get over them, the movie just forgets to include any bit about it.

Finally, maybe the biggest reason why the film falls apart, is because it completley loses Mrs. Robinson! Other than Bancroft's awesome work and the chemistry with Hoffman, the character herself is one of the more sympathetic in the movie, the conversation scene showed more about her than we ever know about Elaine. And yet they totally forget about her. The movie loses a lot of life when they drop that character, they lose their most memorable piece.

The movie is still shot and directed well, and the S&G songs are used perfectly. The comedy is pretty good in here, and again Hoffman and Bancroft act out of their ears.

I didn't hate the film, I still relatively enjoyed watching it all the way through. But the last 2/3s were a typical soap-ish romantic drama than anything, fun but nothing special at all. I am bewildered that AFI on their first list had this in the top 10. Some movies I dislike but I can see where the praise comes from, but The Graduate... top 10 all time? Really?

B/B-

I was reading an explanation by Roger Ebert that Elaine is supposed to be boring and stupid, to represent Benjamin along with all of society living in boring typical lines, marrying early and become good 60s drones who grow up, have kids, and work in plastic coorporaitons. Thinks the only person in the film truly alive and actually interesting is of course Mrs. Robinson, that's why she stands out. Ben is seen as shallow in the film because he doesn't realize she is the one interesting person he knows, the one person who actually steps outside the lines and does what she wants, whether it'd be seduction, drinking, etc. She's the one person he has a back and forth conversation with in the movie, not Elaine, because she's the only one who has that value. Interesting take, I think I appreciate it more looking at it that way. Though still, a disappointment overall.

EDIT - It's 20 minutes later, and whoaa thinking about the movie in this light, my entire perspective on it has changed. All of a sudden the Elaine storyline kind of makes sense... as does Mrs. Robinson disappearing... as does the silly wedding scene... I've never had such a turnaround on a movie. Instead of a romcom that isn't really believable, it's actually fascinating now. And still really well made. Seriously considering bumping it up to A- level if not higher.

A fantastic film

A.

Perfect, and it speaks to me about real life more than any other movie I can think of.

I need to see this.

I need to see this.

It's a great movie. A definite classic. 8/10

Haven't seen this in years, but it's an A-level film.

So, that's what I'll give it.

A...

And yes, that's what I would have given it at the time I saw it.

My favorite movie of all time!

Really amazing. Gorgeous and well-acted, but also relevant to life. I also think it's a fascinating film in that it's successfully shown from a perspective where there are really two films developing simultaneously - one is a romantic film and the other is of perversion and desperation. That might be really fucking obvious, but I can't think of any other film that pulls it off so smoothly, transitioning between highs and lows, reality and fantasy so eloquently.

****

So, so good.

A+

So I finally saw this.

I think I put off watching it for so long because I wasn't expecting much. Even with its legacy, all the praise, and its place in film history, I still thought it would be something light and fluffy and not too terribly interesting. Boy was I wrong.

What surprised me most is just how superbly directed it is. Every shot is masterfully composed; every scene thought out to its fullest extent. There's that brilliant sequence where Ben wanders in and out of his house and the hotel room and the pool, set to "The Sound of Silence", showing the passage of the summer, but that's merely a flashy highlight. Even a dialogue- and narrative-heavy scene like Ben's attempt at a conversation is perfectly staged; not a single shot is wasted. The direction is rich with imagery and symbolism and meaning, and I loved it.

It's also smartly plotted, forgoing the easy love triangle/romance angle and instead going for something deeper, darker, and a lot more interesting. Ben's transformation from a shy, awkward, nervous kid to, essentially, an aggressive pseudo-stalker is realistic and believable and it's completely due to Hoffman's performance. I've never liked him, but he proves his worth here. Mrs. Robinson is possibly a better character, but the film is all about Ben, and Hoffman totally makes it work.

I'm not sure where I got the impression that this would be a dry, boring, artless film, but it was anything but. Not only is it as artful as any of the European auteur films of the same period, but it's also scarily relevant, clever, and very funny. A real masterpiece.

How could you never like Hoffman. He rules.

I still buy the theory that Elaine is meant to be boring and flat, to represent Ben almost tragically becoming part of the "plastic" world he was warned of in the beginning, while the real hottie, Mrs. Robinson, get's left behind.

Yeah a masterpiece of film. Truly fantastic.

Good movie. It's not a masterpiece, though. I enjoyed it, but it gets praise based off its age and reputation more than anything else. It's not as great viewed alongside all movies made since.

I enjoyed it very much with it being my favorite of 1967 and one of the films ushering in the "New Hollywood" era. A Grade from me.

The movie might be a pioneer in visual storytelling. But I think it could use less drama and more character constructing.

71/100 (B)