The Graduate-A film by Mike Nicholas

Mrs. Robinson, I think you are trying to seduce me.” –Benjamin

The film is about the search for meaning about what a 21 year old Benjamin wants out of his life.

Much unlike his parents, Benjamin does not want to follow the usually trodden path of joining the family business. In the beginning of the film Benjamin, the protagonist's luggage is shown passing by the airport aile followed by a shot of Benjamin move from right to left in the screen like the luggage itself.

Amidst his anxiety he is carried away by the lust of his father’s partners’ spouse, Mrs.Robinson and he loses direction of his life completely. While Benjamin becomes nothing but a residual of his affair with Mrs.Robinson and with no idea of what he wants to do, he runs into Elaine.Anne Bancroft and Dustin Hoffman who played,

Mrs.Robinson and Ben respectively have executed  their characters with such in depth understanding that one connects to young Benjamin and his troubles immediately.

Benjamin’s first kiss to Mrs.Robinson as she puffed the cigarette and her cold response shows how indifferent she was.

His nervousness is shown the moment he checks into the hotel room and brushes his teeth

Elaine is Robinsons only child and Mrs. Robinson has warned Benjamin to stay away from his daughter. On one of his dates with Elaine, Benjamin discovers that he has not been as happy as he has been with Elaine in a short time spent with her.

Benjamin finds that Elaine is able to connect to his inner conflict, because he almost resolves his problem when he says that for no reason at all he found that he felt like he should be rude with others. The most prominent reason being people older to him just wanted him to do things their way.

When he continues to see Elaine, notwithstanding Mrs. Robinson’s warning, he finds himself confessing the truth before Elaine.An immediate distance between Benjamin and Mrs.Robinson has been shown through a tele lens shot as soon as he confesses before Elaine, of his affair with her mother.

Elaine leaves the place shortly after being heartbroken. Benjamin finds that he has his answers for first time since he has been out of Graduate school and realizes that he must do everything in his power to get back with Elaine.

Inspite of a lot of trouble on Benjamin’s part he proposes Elaine in Berkeley, where she studied.

When Elaine’s family forces her into a marriage with another groom, Benjamin breaks into the marriage and steals the bride.The cross which has been used at the end of the film to stop the crowd from coming in Benjamin’s elucidates their resistance against conformist ideas and concepts.

An expression of ease and a sense of calmness are depicted as they catch a bus.

Water has been used as a powerful metaphor to show the inner dilemma and search.He is forced into a diving suit by his parents on his birthday, after which he seeks reprise by wanting to spend time with Mrs.Robinson.

Almost an anti thesis in the films context, Benjamin when confronts an immense emotional or mental ordeal, swims into the pool. 

During his affair with her, he is unable to experience healthy conversations like talking about simple experiences.

After meeting Elaine, Benjamin is shown at a distance from the swimming pool, outside it, from a distance.

Benjamin has been shot with a lot of close-ups such that his dilemma is depicted.

The age difference between both of them has been depicted with such precision that it is evident of how their meeting each other only has a physical association. When Benjamin tries to talk, the idea is brushed off by Mrs.Robinson.


 The songs have been sung by Paul Simon.
 Mrs.Robinson challenges him saying its a little too late for him to catch up Elaine, Benjamin proves to be indefatigable in his attempts.These lines are added when Benjamine decides that he will marry Elaine and leave his past behind.

        And here's to you, Mrs. Robinson 

        Jesus loves you more than you will know, wo wo wo 

        Stand up tall, Mrs. Robinson 

        God in Heaven smiles on those who pray, hey hey hey 

        hey hey

In the film Benjamin repeats several times that he is worried about his future, but nobody pays attention to his being truthful about his feelings.

          and in the naked light I saw 

        ten thousand people maybe more
        people talking without speaking
        people hearing without listening
        people writing songs that voices never shared
        no one dared
        disturb the sound of silence- sound of silence

United States went through a Hippy socio-cultural movement when young people retaliated against the conformist rules laid by the society by wearing long hair(both genders), listening to rock music and having relationships outside the marriage structure.Through their appearance, hippies declared their willingness to question the set rules. Benjamin, inspite of being a genuine person is looked at by his landlord in Berkeley as well as by Elaine’s father as a ‘scum’ as they call him.

The film was made by Mike Nicholas in the year 1967, when the movement had reached its height.

Throughout  the film the feelings of a 21 year old and how the life unfolds during the change which takes place as one graduates from school has been dealt with such understanding that almost everyone who went through the similar questions, feelings, associations and dilemmas of sorts will be able to connect with film.