The Graduate

For my second movie I decided to go back to the 1960's and watch the classic that I've heard so much about, The Graduate. The Graduate is quirky to say the least, but it was relatively enjoyable to watch.

The plot was strange enough without the odd array of characters, settings, and experimental filming that goes along with it. Dustin Hoffman plays Ben Braddock, a twenty-year-old that just graduated from college. His social awkwardness is strangely charming. This awkward trait certainly attracts the old cougar Anne Bancroft (Mrs. Robinson), and well as the daughter played by Katharine Ross.

The soundtrack for the movie is done by Simon and Garfunkel, which means the music automatically has this charming brilliance to it, however the music is sporatic, only ever used for transitionary circumstances, and rarely matched the mood that was going on. There were only two scenes I can think of where the music truly fit, and it definitely could have been cut better to emphasize what was going on. Beyond that, this movie helps us to see exactly how far we've come in terms of sound mixing and technologies. One scene in particular positions Ben inside the house, with the camera focused on his father who is waiting for him to come outside. In it, Ben tries to convince his dad to give him another minute or two, but instead from his voice coming from the distance, it's bluntly overlayed over the rest of the sound in the scene.

This movie also contains one of the earliest use of jump cuts that I've come across. While it was used well in the context of the scene, it wasn't used again after that point. There were also some attempts at dramatic lighting that frequently resulted in odd shadows across the character's faces. Perhaps I'm being picky, but after watching some movies that revolved around their brilliant lighting, this one fell a bit short.

The transitions in the movie went back and forth between being really well shot and mildly shoddy. One transition had Ben diving off a diving board and landing on top of Mrs. Robinson in a seamless transition, while another had an overview of an empty Berkeley campus transitioning to a campus filled with students that was shaky at best.

Overall I did really enjoy the movie. It was entertaining and worth the watch. The story was eclectic and funky. It was all but impossible to figure out how the movie would end. The movie showed attempts at new stylistic approaches to filming that would be explored by directors in the future. It might not be my favorite movie ever, but it's definitely on the list of must-watch movies.