In director Mike Nichols 1967 comedy, “The Graduate,” he takes the character of Benjamin Braddock, a recent college graduate, and puts him through experiences that he never imagined he would have. In a world where Ben is now being pulled in various directions, he is being suffocated by those around him. In Tamar Jeffers McDonald’s book, Romantic Comedy: Boy Meets Girl Meets Genre, she says, “‘The Graduate,’ for example, does not seem to be a full romantic comedy because, although the hero, Benjamin Braddock (Dustin Hoffman), does fall in love with a girl, Elaine (Katharine Ross), the story is more about his inability to fit into society than about her importance to his life,” (62). Through elements of shot composition and mise-en-scene, Nichols establishes the sensation of drowning that Ben feels during the film, and makes the viewer feel it with him.
The graduation party scene at the film’s beginning immediately places the viewer in Ben’s entrapment. In a long take, Ben is positioned in front of his fish tank, giving the impression that he is in the tank as well, with the diver figurine representing Ben. There is an invasion of space when his father sits down right in front of him and is very close to the camera, and this provides the viewer with Ben’s feeling of being suffocated by people. Soon, the mother comes in and positions herself even closer to the camera than the father, and she completely blocks the viewer from the other two characters for a few seconds. She is suffocating the viewer and Ben, just like the father. As the three walk downstairs, there is a painting of a clown at the top of the stairs. This relates to Ben because the clown has makeup on, and Ben is reluctantly putting on a contented face in front of his party guests, even though he is worried and confused behind the cheerful expression.
The next long take is of Ben walking through the house as party guests come up to him every few seconds. Everyone is framed in a close-up, continuing the main character’s feeling of suffocation. A handheld camera is used for this take, and it has the viewer feel dual emotions. On the one hand, the audience feels for Ben because it is experiencing these uncomfortable close-ups with him. On the other hand, it can also make the audience feel like the party guests because how close it’s getting to Ben. Whenever Ben tries to get somewhere, he’s always deterred by another party guest. Ben is then approached by a guest, Mr. McGuire, and both are framed in a close-up. He asks Ben to come outside to talk with him, and afterwards, there are more people out there who want to talk with Ben. All of this shows how Ben is being pulled in multiple directions in regards to his future, and he’s not ready for this. In Roger Ebert’s 1967 review of the film, he says, “His (Ben’s) family and their social circle demand that he perform in the role of Successful Young Upward-Venturing Clean-Cut All-American College Grad,” (1). As Ben heads back inside, a tracking shot shows him walking through the party as the viewer gets a full sense of how many people are in attendance, and the viewer sees that all of the guests are older than Ben, and they all have expectations of him. Through the use of these long takes here and in other parts of the movie, this technique relates to the drowning effect because there aren’t any cuts in the edit, relating to Ben’s inability to come up for air.
The seduction scene places Ben in another “drowning” scenario because he can’t seem to escape Mrs. Robinson, as she expresses clinginess and a needy personality. The deep-focus long shot of the front of the house hints at the Robinsons’ affluent lifestyle, and Ben will soon be drowning in objects. The deep-focus long take as the two walk through the hallway helps the viewer to see the lavishness of the Robinsons’ house, as well as the bigness of the on-screen space that is engulfing Ben. The set design of the living room presents a materialistic lifestyle, as it shows many chairs, a television, a big couch and a bar that’s covered with bottles and drinking glasses. On the outside, there is an abundance of plants, which not only enhances the sensation of drowning in objects, but also gives the impression of wildlife, complimenting Mrs. Robinson’s predatory nature.
During this long take, Ben and Mrs. Robinson are in the frame together for nearly the entire time, displaying Ben being trapped with Mrs. Robinson. This also happens during a long take when the two are in Mrs. Robinson’s daughter Elaine’s room. Even during the times when the frame just has Ben, the viewer still has Mrs. Robinson’s voice from off-screen, coaxing Ben to join her back in the frame. During the long take when Ben is getting Mrs. Robinson’s purse and she is off screen, the viewer still gets the sense of Ben being unable to separate from her because she tries to use her demands to bring him to her. When Mrs. Robinson appears naked and tries to seduce Ben when the two of them are back in Elaine’s room, the audience gets the same feeling as it did in the beginning of the film with Ben’s parents. When Mrs. Robinson has her back to the camera, she is very close to it, and the viewer sees Ben in the background. The viewer and Ben are being suffocated by Mrs. Robinson, just as they were being suffocated by Ben’s parents in the beginning.
In the scene with the scuba suit, Ben is drowning because he’s reluctantly being a part of something that his parents want him to be a part of, and Ben’s father isn’t listening to him when he wants to talk with him. When the audience gets a view of Ben in the scuba suit, the image immediately recalls that of the diver figurine in his fish tank. His scuba suit appears heavy to wear and is basically suffocating him. In a point-of-view long take, through the use of a subjective camera, the audience is put into Ben’s place to make it seem as though it is looking out of the goggles of the scuba suit, just as he is. The viewer can’t hear anything because Ben can’t hear anything from inside the scuba suit. Soon, the audience goes right into the pool, and there is a suffocating feel as he tries to get out of the water, but is being pushed down by his father. The scene then cuts to a medium shot of Ben, and the camera begins to slowly track back in a long take to get a better sense of Ben in relation to the depths of the pool. He continues to resemble the diver with not just the suit, but with how he just stays in place. He slowly fades from view as the camera tracks back farther and farther away, emphasizing the distance he feels from the world around him.
Mike Nichols films his scenes in such a way that makes this film, as McDonald suggests, more than a romantic comedy. Through his shot composition, he brings the story of an alienated young man to full visualization by having him engulfed by the elements within the frame, be it people, objects or both. The romance, of course, plays a part, in that it helps Ben figure out who he is, however, the way he traverses through a world where many people have different views for him is what truly creates his journey into adulthood.
Works Cited
“The Graduate.” 26 Dec. 1967 www.rogerebert.com.
McDonald, Tamar Jeffers. Romantic Comedy: Boy Meets Girl Meets Genre. New York: Columbia University Press, 2007.
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