#17 - The Graduate

Some movies define the consciousness of a generation. They do not merely reflect or depict it; they create it. 1967's "The Graduate" is a fine example of one such movie.

A movie truly ahead of its time, this film directed by Mike Nichols tells the story of Benjamin Braddock (played by Dustin Hoffman, in his breakout role that earned him an Oscar nomination) and his relationship with two women, the "older woman" Mrs. Robinson (played by the devilishly seductive Anne Bancroft) and her daughter Elaine (played by the innocent and lovely Katharine Ross).

The movie's most famous line is heard early in the movie, at a party held for the newly graduated Benjamin by his parents at their Southern California home. A man pulls him aside to give him some advice about the future, not really knowing he is getting to the heart of the movie: "I just want to say one word to you ... Are you listening? ... Plastics."

In an oblique way, this is the heart of the movie. Benjamin has become disillusioned with the SoCal way of life -- or any way of life, for that matter. Everything is fake, put through a filter, not real at all. Plastic. And that's his future.

It is not until he is seduced by the older Mrs. Robinson that his life finds purpose. In a series of affairs at the Taft Hotel, Benjamin and Mrs. Robinson become closer, but it's only superficial. When she tells him to never ask out her daughter (they went to high school together), he sees it as a challenge, but brushes it off. When pressured into by his parents, he ends up taking her to a cabaret show where a showgirl shimmies over Elaine's head (the scene is pitiful, but in an amazing way). They end up falling for each other, and there are elements of the forbidden love archetype before Benjamin takes drastic steps to be with the woman he loves.

Where the movie soars is its arrangement of emotion, humor, and social commentary. Nichols uses some totally new techniques. My personal favorite is a moment when Benjamin flops down on a pool float, and lands on Mrs. Robinson in the next scene. Genius, the movie is worth watching just to see it, honestly. Also there is the use of the amazing subjective shot when Benjamin is in a Scuba suit, a birthday present from his father. The scene is tense, reflective, and hilarious.

I almost forgot. The soundtrack. Written and sung exclusively by folk-rock duo Simon & Garfunkel, the soundtrack is widely known as one of the best ever. They wrote each song to fit exactly what was going on in the movie, so that the songs would be what Benjamin would say whenever a song started playing. As he drives over 1100 miles in about a day, the "koo-koo-ka-choo" of "Mrs. Robinson" pushes him up the California coastline, and it remains one of the best music choices in movie music history.

The movie is simply some of the most inventive filmmaking I've ever seen. It is a classic movie for modern times. It is, in my opinion, at the absolute perfect spot in the list -- #17. My favorite number.