The Big Picture

• The Graduate is an iconic coming-of-age film that satirizes upper-middle-class suburbia and explores quarter-life crisis and existential dread.
• The film's ambiguous ending leaves audiences questioning the future of the main characters, who are faced with unemployment, severed family ties, and a difficult path ahead.
• The ending is bittersweet, as it highlights the impulsive decisions made by the protagonists and the potential consequences of their actions.

The Graduate, a coming-of-age dramedy released in 1967 and directed by the legendary Mike Nichols, is considered an icon of independent cinema, and one of the decade's classics. This film was wildly successful upon release, being the highest-grossing film of that year and receiving several Oscar nominations. Nichols took home the trophy for Best Director, and it was well deserved. The Graduate depicts the prelude to a quarter-life crisis well, in portraying that existential dread a lot of young adults feel when they return home after graduation. The film also satirizes upper-middle-class — WASPy suburbia, unhappy marriages, clueless parents, and all. But what happens at the end of The Graduate?

What Is 'The Graduate' About?

In The Graduate, Benjamin Braddock (Dustin Hoffman), is an aimless overachiever who, since graduating from college and coming home shortly before his 21st birthday, seems to just be going through the motions. The motions also happen to include partaking in an unlikely affair with an older family friend, the alluring and enigmatic Mrs. Robinson (Anne Bancroft).

From there, Benjamin just coasts through life, bumming around his hometown, floating in his pool, and sleeping with a married woman. That is until he finds a genuine connection with his lover's daughter, Elaine (Katharine Ross), who also feels uncertain about her life and future. Despite Benjamin and Elaine's connection, the initial affair with Mrs. Robinson – and the fact that Mrs. Robinson really doesn't want Benjamin anywhere near Elaine – complicates things, to say the least.

What Happens at the End of 'The Graduate'?

The Graduate is especially well-known for its ambiguous ending. The romance between Elaine and Benjamin morphs into a Romeo and Juliet situation with all the parents involved completely rejecting the idea, and Elaine herself being unsure, despite her affection for him. As the affair between Benjamin and Mrs. Robinson begins to completely unravel, the youngsters are forbidden to see each other, and Elaine is forced to drop out of college and marry a man she'd only been briefly dating.

Benjamin's feelings for Elaine are solidified by the romance's forbidden nature, and in a desperate attempt to see her again, he gets into his famous Alfa Romero and floors it for Elaine's wedding. From there is a scene that has been referenced by everyone from Family Guy and The Simpsons, to Archer and Wayne's World 2. Benjamin, in short, makes a massive scene at the wedding, running off with Elaine while fighting off the groom, Elaine's parents, and the entire congregation with a wooden cross before rushing out of the chapel and jumping on a passing bus. On its own, this is a fairly romantic whirlwind of an ending. It could easily be framed as Benjamin following his heart and gut, taking a leap of faith, and chasing after the girl he loves. He saves her from an unhappy marriage, and Elaine can follow her heart as well by going with him, avoiding a loveless marriage. All of this would've been the case, despite not quite fitting in with the tone of the film, if it wasn't for one iconic shot.

Elaine and Benjamin get on the bus, leaving their families and all that held them back behind, and the camera lingers on them for a couple of minutes. They start to catch their breaths again, the adrenaline comes down, and their elated grins slowly fade as "The Sound of Silence" by Simon & Garfunkel begins to play. This ending isn't bittersweet, but rather it's a sweet ending that slowly turns bitter the more the camera lingers on the less and less happy couple.

What Does 'The Graduate's Ending Mean?

Those fading grins symbolize a question that audience members would likely have in their heads as the credits roll on The Graduate: What do Benjamin and Elaine do now? Neither of them could easily go home after the commotion that was caused, not without a very painful conversation with either of their parents, not even to collect their things. Benjamin left his car behind, which probably wasn't the best idea. Elaine dropped out of college because of this marriage and getting back in without support would pose a significant challenge. They're both unemployed, their families are probably never going to talk to them again, and they've both just left their incredibly privileged lives behind. That "What do we do now?" can turn into an "Oh God, what have we done?" very quickly.

The melancholy of The Graduate's ending isn't just about the immediate future or the consequences of a very impulsive act, but for all that they've gained in abandoning that church ceremony — which, to be cynical, wasn't a lot — Elaine and Benjamin fed into the destructive cycles of not only their own lives but the lives of their families. Elaine was born out of wedlock, and Mrs. Robinson was forced into an unhappy marriage because of the pregnancy. Her over-protection of her daughter came from her wish to prevent those same mistakes being made, especially with her own paramour. While Elaine is not pregnant, she does end up making an extremely impulsive decision with someone she's barely dated. As for Benjamin, he started the film with a degree but no aspirations or clue what he was doing for the rest of his life. He had a solid support network by living at his parents' house, but he made no effort to establish independence other than the car he abandoned. Now, with that support network likely gone, he is even more lost at the end of the film than he was at the beginning.

Wedding interruptions, as a fictional trope, usually raise ethical and practical questions. The first is putting an abrupt and dramatic end to an event that took months, if not years, to plan. The second is about ending a relationship sturdy enough to have made it to the altar. Alarmingly, we've continued to see this trope through the decades and into the new millennium in romantic comedies. From Wedding Crashers to Four Weddings and a Funeral, drama is always set to happen when someone says "Speak now or forever hold your peace." Romance ensues after this dramatic gesture and the disruptor gets the groom or, more often, the bride that they desire. The Graduate is truly the only movie that shows, at least for a short time, the consequences of such a display, and that happily ever after never comes so easily.