The Graduate (1967)

The graduate is a film so telling of it's time, it is almost voyeuristic in it's look at the late 1960's. The fears, perversions and repression of the the time are clearly evident for all to see no matter how hard the characters attempt to ignore, hide or disguise them. Dustin Hoffman plays a man-child who cannot conform to social norms anymore. He rebels against the world by bedding a married woman, although the initial advances are thanks to the latter party, it is Hoffman's character Ben Braddock who follows through with the tryst by calling mrs. robinson - played by an astonishingly beautiful anne bancroft - from a hotel pay phone. At the core of the film, there is a deep sense of the social unrest. People were, at that time, soldered to societal positions. Any variation in the flow of things was extremely controversial. Ultimately the film is clear about making your own decisions, and being an individual even if it means having to experience unpleasant things to find out exactly what you need in life. It is shot beautifully with very interesting shot choices. There were multiple shots showing a reflective Dustin Hoffman, pondering life or even comparing his thought process to a caged animal (the fish tank in his bedroom / the monkeys at the zoo). Also used is a creative first person shot (i.e. the pool & scuba scene) or the infamous breast shots during the quick cutting of the first bedroom scene with Bancroft. The dialogue is crisp, even though it so eerily formal in so many informal situations (think Ben and Mr. Robinson's exchange in his Berkley apartment). I may tend towards nostalgia (even when I've never experienced certain things myself) but I find the consistent formality of the dialogue to be endearing. I wish we still lived in a world where a certain level of respect was required for all interactions. Even though the film seemed rushed at the end, it was overall immensely enjoyable due to it's ability to give a glimpse of the mindset of the time and to expose the dark underworld of suburbia in the 1960's.