Robbins
Film Analysis
10/13/14
The Graduate
Dustin Hoffman does an incredible job playing Benjamin Braddock in The Graduate. Ben changes from being a submissive, timid boy to a strong, brave "go-getter". While the movie is a comedy, Ben is very glum through most of the movie, and some of the funny moments even spawned from his awkwardness. There were really only two times that we see Ben actually happy, during his date with Elaine and when he runs off with her at the end.
Ben was stuck in an affair with Mrs. Robinson mother of Elaine and wife of his father's business partner. Ben would do whatever she said, and when he tried to object, she would trick him into doing what she wanted anyway. Meanwhile, not knowing what was going on, Mr. Robinson and Ben's family forces him to take Elaine out on a date, and Ben falls in love. Mrs. Robinson threatens to reveal the affair if he took Elaine on another date, but Ben breaks the news to Elaine himself. This was the first time Ben stood up for himself, but he paid a price for it. Mrs. Robinson told everyone that Ben had raped her, causing Elaine to never want to see him again. After tracking her down (another bold move), Ben spoke to Elaine and told her the truth. Ben planned to marry Elaine, but Mr. Robinson sent her back home, and arranged for her to marry her old family friend, Carl. Upon hearing the news, Ben tracks down the place of the wedding, crashes it (yelling "ELAINE" at least 15 times), and winds up running off with her, fending off multiple other wedding guests. This scene really showed just how much Ben changed during the film.
Dustin Hoffman's character changed from a sulky, awkward teenager to a brave man, who was willing to crash a wedding, just to marry the girl of his dreams.
You did a great job describing Ben's growth and change over the course of the movie. Words like timid and sulky to brave and bold worked well for the flow of your writing. I liked how you focused on the scene where he crashed the wedding as a big moment of growth. Something that really drove the impression that Ben was doing something bold and impressive was that as he was shouting Elaine's name, the only sound that Elaine could hear (as her family members were visibly saying something but we couldn't hear them) was his voice. That use of sound really drives home the points that you made about Ben maturing.
ReplyDeleteI do agree that Ben becomes much more brave, but I think the movie tries to introduce some doubt. Throughout the movie, Ben did not seem to have much drive. After being very successful in college, he does nothing with it, and instead stays at home. It seems he only really did well because his parents told him to. It is true that he goes to get Elaine, but the very last scene shows some apprehension about their future, as their expressions change from all smiles at each other, to blank stares forward.
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