This witty 1967 comedy-drama about disaffected youth feels both dated and timeless, and holds up well thanks to the great performances, clever cinematography, legendary Simon & Garfunkel tunes, and one of the most memorable movie endings I can think of.
In his first-ever onscreen role, impossibly young Dustin Hoffman plays Benjamin Braddock, a newly minted college graduate returning to his parents’ home to contemplate his future. As he drifts across the screen on the airport conveyor belt, with the eerie and melancholy The Sound of Silence playing over, you get an instant impression of someone deeply uncomfortable in his own skin. Insecure and socially awkward, Benjamin doesn’t feel at ease in his wealthy parents’ world, and doesn’t seem to have any friends his own age either.
Distraction arrives in the shape of Mrs Robinson (Anne Bancroft), the vampish wife of Benjamin’s father’s business partner, who makes it clear to Benjamin that she’s sexually available to him in the most unambiguous way possible. Thus the summer passes, with Benjamin dividing his time between his parents’ pool by day and trysts with Mrs Robinson by night, captured in one of the film’s best montage sequences blurring the boundaries between Benjamin’s home and the hotel where two lovers meet. Things get even more spicy when Benjamin falls in love with Mrs Robinson’s daughter, Elaine (Katharine Ross).
One of the first things I noticed about the movie is how incredibly well it is shot, with interesting camera work, voyeuristic angles and quirky touches that add immensely to the comedy and character drama. Somehow I didn’t expect this level of creativity from what is basically a romantic comedy-drama, but director Mike Nichols was clearly in an experimental mood when he made this. Some choices, like the old fashioned style zooms, really date the movie, but visually it was just so much fun to watch. I recognised many iconic shots and scenes that I’ve seen before in stills and snippets, without ever watching the movie.
It’s bizarre to think that Hollywood golden boy Robert Redford was initially considered for the role of Benjamin. Though Dustin Hoffman (pushing thirty at the time) is not especially convincing as a 21-year-old, he’s perfect in this nervy, twitchy, career defining turn, playing Benjamin as both a misfit and a jerk. It is also a great comedic performance, especially in the first half where Benjamin navigates the affair with an older woman in an excruciatingly awkward and hilarious way.
I felt that the more romantic-minded second half, in which Mrs Robinson takes the back seat to her daughter, suffered somewhat from the reduced presence of Anne Bancroft and her character. Katharine Ross is angelic and appealing, but Elaine is simply not anywhere as interesting or dynamic as her mother – even allowing for the argument that we only ever see both women through the eyes of self-absorbed Benjamin. Mrs Robinson becomes more malevolent and antagonistic as the movie progresses, and her behaviour early on can certainly be described as predatory, however there’s a sense of tragedy and self-loathing beneath her cool, cynical exterior that makes her a compelling character who’s sorely missed in the last stretch.
As always with this sort of movie, I wonder what my reaction would have been had I watched it at the age it was clearly meant for. In my forties, I could still sympathise with Benjamin’s feelings of alienation, aimlessness and yearning for a future that’s different. On the other hand I didn’t find his parents especially awful; materialistic perhaps and incapable of understanding their son’s existential angst, but still basically well-meaning. They’re clearly served up in the movie as an example of oppressive culture that needs countering, but all I could think of was the Terry Pratchett quote about how every generation singing ‘we shall overcome’ in the end becomes the generation that the next generation sings ‘we shall overcome’ at.
The movie tackles some dark and painful topics, but it is very funny and full of observational wit. It also makes a wonderful use of classic, bittersweet Simon & Garfunkel songs, though I’m not sure if anyone needs to hear Scarborough Fair (a great song that I love) playing not once, not twice, but three times over. And there’s of course that famous ending that cruelly subverts the traditional romantic happy ending and yanks it back into the uncertain, fearful reality.
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