MYST Post #4: The Graduate

After watching a few scenes of The Graduate in class, I knew I had to finish it. The story centers an awkward college graduate, Ben Braddock (Dennis Hoffman), who is just, in his terms, "drifting." He's very unsure of what he's going to do with his future and is constantly being barraged by his parents and other adults with questions of his future. To fill up his empty time, Ben begins to have an affair with his parents' friend, Mrs. Robinson (Anne Brancroft). This lasts until Ben begins seeing Mrs. Robinson's daughter, Elaine (Katharine Ross). And that's when things get complicated.

Elaine and Ben on a date

Throughout the film, I really enjoyed the music score composed by Simon and Garfunkel. The folk-rock gave the soundtrack a very distinct sound and felt like a transitional stage from the popular rock music that gained its fame in the 1950s to more psychedelic rock that would mark the late 60s into the 70s. Additionally, I've heard a lot of the melodies to the songs in pop culture today, which reinforces The Graduate's global acclaim. Furthermore, I noticed that the director, Mike Nichols, was very creative with his shot types. I noted this when Ben and Mrs. Robinson have their first stay at the Taft Hotel. To exaggerate the obscurity of the scene, Nichols purposefully used a dutch angle shot. I thought this was a testament to his innovativeness as I had not seen this in past films we watched. Also, I think this innovative spirit reflects Nichols' style of challenging conventions. We see this earlier with his film Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, where Nichols fought hard (and won) for the adaptation of the play despite vulgar language. In The Graduate, Nichols channels this daring and innovative spirit through both his camera work and editing.

A scene I think that really reflects the aforementioned style of Nichols is when Mrs. Robinson stands nude in front of Ben in Elaine's bedroom. We know Mrs. Robinson is naked, but what Nichols smartly does is continue the editing with Ben's mindset. We never see a nude Mrs. Robinson because Ben never really gawks at her. He takes sidelong glances at her, and that's what we are given. I thought that was really interesting and really shows that Nichols was a thoughtful director.

Overall, I did like the movie. I thought the main character, Ben Braddock, was a more relatable character (in terms of personality, of course) compared to any of the other protagonists in the films we watched prior. At this point in my high school career, I kind of feel like Ben—drifting and waiting for something to happen. But at the end of the film, I didn't really know how to feel. **SPOILERS WITH CLIP TO SUPPLEMENT BELOW** Ben chases after Elaine on her wedding day, which is oh so noble of him, but what really made me dislike the ending was that Mrs. Robinson just became the bad guy. I feel like Nichols set her up to be more of a complex character with shades of grey, but we're never given the satisfaction of knowing those shades.

For the wonderful music, camera work, and editing, but the lack of a really great ending, I'd give The Graduate a 4 out of 5 stars.