Ben Braddock – The Graduate
What makes young Ben Braddock’s (Dustin Hoffman) pursuit of lust so entertaining to watch is precisely what makes the character so despicable; and because The Graduate is such a beloved comedy, it’s often forgotten how malevolent its protagonist really is.
For those who are not familiar with The Graduate, it follows the fresh out-of-college Ben, the track star and the prominent scholar, as his seemingly innocent life is corrupted by his attraction towards one strangely kinky family, the Robinsons. The familial affair starts at Ben’s graduation party, where he encounters Mrs. Robinson (Anne Bancroft), the wife of his father’s business partner, and is seduced by her commanding beauty. The almost disgusting fling eventually ends, but comes back to haunt him as he finds himself falling for Elaine (Katharine Ross), Mrs. Robinson’s daughter.
All that this convoluted love triangle from hell does is make us detest Ben’s character; Roger Ebert went from proclaiming the film’s genius upon first viewing to describing Ben as an “insufferable creep” thirty years later. And he’s right: Ben is not a nice person. He’s selfish, playing with people’s emotions like they’re toys instead of humans, and like a stubborn, spoiled child, he pouts when he doesn’t get his way.
When Elaine finds out about the original affair, and dumps Ben (as she should), Ben doesn’t appreciate her unsurprising resilience, and instead of letting her move on with her life, he stalks her, steals her away from her fiancé, and throws her into a totally unorganized situation that will more than likely not end well. However, that’s precisely the brilliance of that last shot with Ben and Elaine on the back of the bus. Once the excitement of escaping the wedding dies down, the two are thrown into a reality they’ve never experienced before, as the look of joy turns sour, and the sound of silence takes over.
