I watched The Graduate recently, and found it fascinating on a number of levels. Quick background: a recent college grad, Benjamin Braddock (Dustin Hoffman), becomes entangled in a romantic affair with an older woman, Mrs. Robinson (Anne Bancroft). Hence the famous line, "Mrs. Robinson, you're trying to seduce me." Things get complicated, though, as Ben falls in love with Mrs. Robinson's daughter, Elaine (Katharine Ross). Ben becomes so hopelessly obsessed with Elaine that he pretty much goes to the end of the earth and back to win her heart.First of all, the first third of the movie is absolutely hilarious. Ben embodies an intense awkwardness as he engages in the affair -- it's painfully obvious when meeting her at a hotel one night.
What I found more intriguing was the manner in which Ben chased down the lovely Elaine during the last third of the movie. Herein lies a conflict:
From a cynic's point of view, you'd have to think that, in reality, such extreme measures would at some point have resulted in a restraining order. But from a romantic's point of view, it's a gorgeous fairy tale that teenage girls dream will happen to them one day.
I randomly ran across someone's thoughts on obsession (an emotion which dominates Ben's motives) recently: "Obsession: a persistent, disturbing preoccupation with an often unreasonable idea or feeling; compelling motivation. I like the latter definition personally. I can be compelled, but at what point does persistence become disturbing? Also, don't most good ideas and feelings initially seem unreasonable? Honestly, by definition, if you're not obsessed, I just don't think you're trying... you lazy buggers."
An important detail I've left out until this point is that the feeling between Ben and Elaine was at one point mutual. In other words, it's NOT an unreasonable idea that Ben, given persistence, gets the girl. But if the girl (or guy) just has no interest whatsoever, it matters not how persistent the pursuer is, it just ain't gonna be successful. Here's where the cynic's point of view wins out: persistence isn't romantic; it's just plain creepy and disturbing.
Circling back...to me, the most ingenious part of The Graduate was that it doesn't really resolve this conflict in the final scene, unlike the usual marshmallowy romantic tale. Sure, Ben and Elaine run off together in the end (quite literally), but as the credits begin to roll, it's not 100% clear whether romanticism wins (Ben's obsession is rewarded and he gets the girl) or loses (reality sets in and it doesn't work out).
Which is actually painfully realistic.
