The Graduate and Two Lovers

The Graduate (1967). Director: Mike Nichols

Two Lovers (2008). Director: James Gray

Every once in a while I came across movies that I thought were really good but with truly despicable protagonists. The curious fact that resentful characters still make movies good is something worth spending some thoughts on. I have seen two movies that fall into this category: The Graduate and Two Lovers. So I would like to write about them.

The Graduate in its essence was a romantic venture of a headstrong and selfish young adult Ben, portrayed wonderfully by Dustin Hoffman. Ben was a recent college graduate that, despite his intelligence, didn’t know what to do with his life. He was seduced by and eventually slept with the wife of his father’s business partner Mr. Robinson. His affair with this much older woman is not an act of love. Although this is not to say that there was no emotional attachment between the two, it seemed to me that Ben was experimenting with his freedom as a young adult more than investing in a relationship. The whole situation quickly turned into a train wreck when Ben fell in love with Mr. and Mrs. Robinson’s daughter, Elaine. For better or worse, Ben was not sly enough to keep the shit from hitting the fan. After Elaine left in disgust, Ben had the determination to be a tenacious suitor. His persistence eventually won Elaine back, and the two of them ran away from the turmoil Ben quite irresponsibly created. 

The male protagonist in Two Lovers was even less likable. Just like Ben, Leonard didn’t know what to do with life. But being much older in age, he lacked the energy and bullheaded innocence that normally only existed at a younger age. When Leonard was sinking lower and lower into the dark pit of his life, two women came along. Sandra was the daughter of a middle class family: a nice, straightforward and thoughtful girl that would be a good wife for any man, and Michelle, who was whimsical, moody but,  irresistibly attractive. Leonard fell head over heels for Michelle, though he knew it was a risky relationship given her mercurial nature. At the same time, Leonard kept Sandra close as a safety net. At the end, immediately after Michelle stood him up the night they were supposed to run away together, Leonard asked Sandra to marry him. The desperation to cling onto something in life and the resulting lack of dignity left me feel nothing but disdain for Leonard. 

Why did I consider The Graduate and Two Lovers good movies? I guess the main reason was that I saw aspects of humanity reflected in characters like Ben and Leonard; aspects that may be ugly but at the same time can’t be more realistic. We as humans are not simply vessels of virtues. Quite the contrary, vices come as part of the package. How many people can proudly claim that they have never committed any wrongdoing out of selfishness? Stories such as those of Ben and Leonard give perfect examples of the fact that “sometimes you have to do something unforgivable just to be able to go on living” (This is a great line by Carl Jung in the movie A Dangerous Method). Although I am not advocating the idea of succumbing to those primitive desire of having our needs satisfied at the expense of others, I also don’t agree that we should simply pretend that those dark elements don’t exist in us. In a way, it is a breath of “fresh” air to see movies that actually intend to show us those slimy corners of humanity. By comparing myself to them, I know that I have been and must keep doing better as a human being. Simply put, bad people can be good examples.