They were waiting for the next adventure. That's why they were smiling at first, but it faded. Their fading smiles were the result of their impatience. As proven throughout the movie, the next adventure could take days, maybe months or even years to come. They won't be happy together until they do things that under normal circumstances in the 60s to now would be considered Taboo. For example Ben didn't wait until after Elaine and her Fiance kissed making them officially married, because during that brief moment between sorrow at You Are Too Late and "ELANE!!!!! ELANE!!!!" He realized it would cause more excitement for the both of them to commit open adultery than simply love and sex. When Elaine said "Not for me." She was thinking exactly what Ben was thinking. Their smiles fading were both the impatience and sudden realization that if not for their adventures, both his and her lives would become dull. It's a lot like Rose's promise to Jack in Titanic. She promised no matter how impossible it may seem since she risked losing everything; to live life to the fullest. I guess you can say Titanic is James Cameron's way of saying "I made a beautiful film, but I also wanted to show I finally understood the ending to The Graduate."
They were waiting for the next adventure. That's why they were smiling at first, but it faded. Their fading smiles were the result of their impatience. As proven throughout the movie, the next adventure could take days, maybe months or even years to come. They won't be happy together until they do things that under normal circumstances in the 60s to now would be considered Taboo. For example Ben didn't wait until after Elaine and her Fiance kissed making them officially married, because during that brief moment between sorrow at You Are Too Late and "ELANE!!!!! ELANE!!!!" He realized it would cause more excitement for the both of them to commit open adultery than simply love and sex. When Elaine said "Not for me." She was thinking exactly what Ben was thinking. Their smiles fading were both the impatience and sudden realization that if not for their adventures, both his and her lives would become dull. It's a lot like Rose's promise to Jack in Titanic. She promised no matter how impossible it may seem since she risked losing everything; to live life to the fullest. I guess you can say Titanic is James Cameron's way of saying "I made a beautiful film, but I also wanted to show I finally understood the ending to The Graduate."
Edited by 99.245.24.59