The Graduate

I recently watched the movie the Graduate.  And normally, I enjoy movies that are based on the novels, simply because that usually means that they made them for a reason, because more times than not, that means that the book was successful and that people should be interested in the movie as well.  And that was almost the case in this movie.  I didn't think the movie was great, but on the other hand, I didn't think it was horrible.

Although it was different, it actually had an alright story line.  The color of this movie seemed nothing special, there were some nice places that they filmed at like the college campus.  Since the technology was not so much advanced yet, the color really depended on the location of the filming, like at the hotel, it was nothing special, but it was a nice hotel to shoot at.

There was not a ton of sound effects in this movie, because there was not a ton needed since it was not so much an action movie, it was more of a drama with a little comedy.  This played well  in the dialogue of the movie because the way Benjamin acted different around Elaine compared to Mrs. Robinson, and even more different around his father and Mr. Robinson.  This movie was a little different because you don't see alot of serious movies based off of an affair, and then he falls for the daughter after that, so this movie was definitely a first for me.

The music in this movie played a great part in the movie, and I actually enjoyed the music in this movie because it wasn't just the old time folk music, it was a new band that from the movie became famous.  They helped keep the movie rolling with the at the time up beat songs instead of the same old school style of songs. This movie actually made the song Mrs. Robinson, which even though it wasn't in the movie, was based off of it.

The acting in this movie is actually very good.  Dustin Hoffman plays a great character in Benjamin, who I can relate very well too, not because I have my parents wives after me, but because I am also a confused college student who is looking for a path to go on.  This made the movie that much better to watch because of the story line of the college student and his quest for the marriage of his love Elaine. The women in this movie play very good characters as well, in Anne Brancroft and Katharine Ross.  The characters in this movie where different from what I am used to seeing, but they did a good job.

The directors style in this movie is clear that he wants this to be a love story, however, he wants it to be a very  weird style of love story.  From the affair, to the hotel and then the falling for Elaine, to the drama between Elaine and Carl, to Mr. Robinson finding out about the affair, to the scene at the wedding.  In the end it all works out the way the audience wants it.  I particularly liked the ending of this movie at the church, and how I realized Waynes World 2 ends in the exact same way.

Some of the reasons why I liked watching this movie is to see what things were like when my parents were growing up, and to see a movie that came out during their time and compare it to the movies that we watch now.  The acting in this movie I thought was good to, Dustin Hoffman is one of my favorite actors, and I liked to see him in this movie because without him might not have been near as good.