The Graduate is a terrific movie about a recently graduated young man who embarks on an affair with an older, married woman and then falls in love with her daughter. It's a deservedly iconic movie which benefits greatly from a smart, wonderfully written script and some truly great performances. Mike Nichols' direction is also pretty great (particularly the final scene is masterfully directed).
The character of Elaine doesn't actually appear in the movie until about fifty minutes after the movie begins, but it is frequently mentioned by other characters and her presence can be almost costantly felt: it's a long build-up that might not have been easy to live up to, but Katharine Ross surprisingly does. Elaine isn't an extremely complex or complicated character but thanks to Ross it never feels limited or shallow by any means and when she appears Ross manages to make Elaine a character just as strong and memorable as Benjamin (Dustin Hoffman) and Mrs. Robinson (Anne Bancroft). Her first scene in the movie occurs when Benjamin takes Elaine out on a date and attempts to repulse her because of a promise made to Mrs. Robinson: Ross is actually very moving in the scene by realistically portraying the embarrassment, shock and confusion of the situation and it's not hard to understand why Benjamin would immediately have a change of heart. After he apologize, Benjamin and Elaine spend a nice, enjoyable night out together and both actors make the most out of that moment: they have a natural, wonderful chemistry and they make their characters' interactions incredibly sweet and endearing - they don't actually share a particularly large amount of screen-time together but they make Ben and Elaine a couple you root for. On her own, Ross makes Elaine an extremely charming and luminous character that is always nice to have on screen.
Their romance unfortunately can't last very long as Mrs. Robinson forces Benjamin to confess their affair to Elaine, prompting the girl to break up with him: the scene in which Elaine finds out about the affair is excellently acted by Ross, even if Mike Nichols had something totally different in mind for it; apparently, he wanted Ross to starts crying but she wasn't able to. In my opinion, if she had cried the scene wouldn't have been quite as powerful as it is in the movie: the way her face goes from a wide, loving smile to a hurt, heartbroken and angered look is simply amazing and it's just extremely impressive to watch how she manages to switch from warmth to coldness in such a short time and in such a convincing manner.
Later on in the movie, after Benjamin goes to Berkeley attempting to reunite with her, Ross does a great job in showing that to some extent Elaine still loves Benjamin but can't quite forgive him yet. I particularly love the scene in which she confronts Benjamin over his affair with her mother: Ross is great suggesting that, deep down, Elaine knows that her mother isn't as innocent as she made her believe but at the same time she refuses to think that her mother wanted to have an affair so she prefers to believe that she was raped (as she told her). After they briefly reunite, Hoffman and Ross manage to strike up again the great, tender chemistry they shared earlier - before they're separated again. Which leads to the brilliant final scene, in which (spoiler) Elaine marries another man but right after she says yes she sees Benjamin screaming her name and decides to run away with him (spoiler off). Ross's facial acting as she watches Ben and slowly moves towards him before screaming his name in return is something truly amazing and in every single second you can see the emotions battling inside her - also, that "Ben!" at the end of the scene couldn't have been more perfect and powerful. But she also is terrific in the final few moments of the movie, as her smile slowly freezes and she starts to realize that ahead of them there is a future full of uncertainty.
Elaine could have been just a plot-device or an object of desire but Katharine Ross manages to turn her into a three-dimensional, realistic creation. She delivers a luminous, moving turn and gives a performance that is simply so beautiful in its simplicity.
Their romance unfortunately can't last very long as Mrs. Robinson forces Benjamin to confess their affair to Elaine, prompting the girl to break up with him: the scene in which Elaine finds out about the affair is excellently acted by Ross, even if Mike Nichols had something totally different in mind for it; apparently, he wanted Ross to starts crying but she wasn't able to. In my opinion, if she had cried the scene wouldn't have been quite as powerful as it is in the movie: the way her face goes from a wide, loving smile to a hurt, heartbroken and angered look is simply amazing and it's just extremely impressive to watch how she manages to switch from warmth to coldness in such a short time and in such a convincing manner.
Later on in the movie, after Benjamin goes to Berkeley attempting to reunite with her, Ross does a great job in showing that to some extent Elaine still loves Benjamin but can't quite forgive him yet. I particularly love the scene in which she confronts Benjamin over his affair with her mother: Ross is great suggesting that, deep down, Elaine knows that her mother isn't as innocent as she made her believe but at the same time she refuses to think that her mother wanted to have an affair so she prefers to believe that she was raped (as she told her). After they briefly reunite, Hoffman and Ross manage to strike up again the great, tender chemistry they shared earlier - before they're separated again. Which leads to the brilliant final scene, in which (spoiler) Elaine marries another man but right after she says yes she sees Benjamin screaming her name and decides to run away with him (spoiler off). Ross's facial acting as she watches Ben and slowly moves towards him before screaming his name in return is something truly amazing and in every single second you can see the emotions battling inside her - also, that "Ben!" at the end of the scene couldn't have been more perfect and powerful. But she also is terrific in the final few moments of the movie, as her smile slowly freezes and she starts to realize that ahead of them there is a future full of uncertainty.
Elaine could have been just a plot-device or an object of desire but Katharine Ross manages to turn her into a three-dimensional, realistic creation. She delivers a luminous, moving turn and gives a performance that is simply so beautiful in its simplicity.
4.5/5
YES.
RispondiEliminaShe really was great, and boy I hope she wins over Parsons. She adds so much to the film with quite frankly, not the most complex material and I'm glad you noted that.
She indeed adds a lot to the movie and she overcomes completely the potential limitations of the role.
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RispondiEliminaLove this one. I actually requested this year because of her and Parsons.
RispondiEliminaBancroft's performance is certainly one of the greatest ever, but I think Ross and Hoffman are a bit underrated. I think Ross was responsible for the most realistic aspect of the movie and she was really powerful in it. Also, her performance aged very well and could work in any recent movie.
The last time I watched it I perceived a big similarity between Bancroft's face and Ross's face. And it reinforced my thought that she was the right choice over the likes of Natalie Wood, Sally Field and Jane Fonda - all of whom were considered for the role.
But, you know, I just LOOOOVE The Graduate. It must be the saddest comedy ever made.
Ah, love the blue hair, if it's yours.
I agree with everything you said. Ross truly delivers a natural, realistic performance that couldn't any more modern and fresh even nowadays. And yes, she is a much better fit for the role than the other actresses considered.
EliminaI too love The Graduate. It's such a cleverly written movie.
And yes it's me in the profile pic, so thank you very much!
Glad to see you love this terrific movie too, I think it deserves to be as iconic as it is.
RispondiEliminaYes it does indeed! It's great.
EliminaBancroft should have won, A M A Z I N G work for ages. Really shows what an actor is, or can do with his talent. Ross is great too, very natural, charming performance. She said most threw her very expressive face. In the wedding scene for an example we could feel exactly what she was feeling and that shows that this (then) young lady gave a very good performance. 4.5 from me
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