The Graduate

Is The Graduate the Great American Movie? Well, no, but this 1967 flick certainly sums up its era (late 1960s) better than most movies of that period. It is witty, sad and, above all, intelligent. It is director Mike Nichol's finest achievement.

And it is a movie which simply refuses to fade away. There is no 'use-by' date. While watching it, you're constantly amazed at just how modern this movie is. It wears its almost-40 years with remarkable grace.

The Graduate is about the coming-of-age of college graduate and track-field star Benjamin Braddock (Dustin Hoffman). Now, I normally can't stand the 'Great American Actor', but Dustin does this role better than anyone I can imagine, despite being totally miscast by the screenplay's own demands.

For a start, Benjamin is meant to be handsome and athletic - a College jock. I guess a Nick Nolte type would sum him up. But somehow, tiny, slightly autistic Dustin just makes the role his own.

He is neurotic, nervous, shy, diffident and bumbling, but still very likeable. He has over-proud parents from hell, who make him go through intense ordeals in front of their friends. And on top of that, he has Mrs Robinson (Anne Bancroft) to contend with, the mother of the girl he fancies deep-down, Elaine Robinson (Katharine Ross).

Yes, he has Mrs Robinson. Or, rather, she has Benjamin. Over and over and over. And, all the time, she is insisting that although she's free-range, he goes nowhere near her daughter. Elaine is strictly off-limits.

It's fabulous casting. Katharine Ross is the perfect Elaine, attracted to Benjamin but repelled as her mother's secret is revealed. And Anne Bancroft as the serpent-like mother, bossy and seductive at the same time, just devours her role. She matches Dustin in giving this movie the acting strength which turns it from being a good, even fascinating movie into an outstanding one.

And listen to the soundtrack. It's the usually wimpish Simon and Garfunkel, doing snatches of the title number, along with Sounds of Silence, Scarborough Fair and more. Now, normally I give Simon and Garfunkel a big miss - though I've got to admit that Bob Dylan's version of The Boxer is pretty good. But listen to their music while watching the movie, and we're in for beautifully matched image and sound - it's amazingly evocative and effective.

I've tried not to disclose too much about the film, just on the off-chance that you've managed to live this long without seeing The Graduate. If you haven't seen it, take care to concentrate on the closing ten seconds or so. It's just a close-up of two faces. Not a word is said. But the close-up turns everything that's just gone before on its head. Very impressive. Good one, Mike...