LET'S TALK ABOUT... The Graduate

"Mrs. Robinson, you're trying to seduce me."  Everyone who's seen the graduate talks about the sexy affair that Dustin Hoffman's character has with Mrs. Robinson, his father's business friend's wife.  Everyone has seen the famous still of her putting on a stocking, leg outstretched, Dustin Hoffman staring from the other end of the hotel room.  This movie skyrocketed Hoffman to stardom, created several hits by Simon and Garfunkel, and added more than a few new sentences to the lexicon ("Plastics!"), but I don't want to talk about any of that.

I want to talk about (what I think is) the most interesting theme in the movie: Isolation.

Mike Nichols sets up several scenes with shots of Dustin Hoffman's character shot through water, creating a physical barrier between the audience and the star of the film.

In this scene in particular, the isolation he feels from his family and his family's friends is exemplified not only by water, but through a door, and a mask.

 

In this scene, later in the film, not only does Nichols return to the pool tableau, but also uses camera angle to show the disconnect between Dustin Hoffman's character and his father.