04/15/09 - The Graduate

The Graduate (1967, 105 min)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061722/

I had heard multiple film majors describe this as a "perfect" movie so I thought it was about time I got around to seeing it. Lines and scenes from it are considered classics.

While what I saw was great, I would not classify it as perfect. Dustin Hoffman is essentially perfect though as Benjamin Braddock. Every movie I've seen him in he's amazing and this is no exception. Every nuance and movement seems calculated and done with such precision. He plays the awkward college graduate to perfection and I really can't see anyone else being in that role.

The female main characters - Anne Bancroft as Mrs. Robinson and Katherine Ross as Elaine Robinson - hold their own as well. Bancroft does a great job at being crafty and manipulative. She makes every scene she's in excellent. Ross doesn't have as much screen time but she also does well in the few scenes she's in.

One thing I was sort of disappointed in was the soundtrack. I had heard that the Simon & Garfunkel offering was supposed to be one of the best soundtracks ever. It really seemed to have but about four songs, each of which was played about three times in the movie. I was somewhat disappointed. The songs did very much fit in with the scenes though, so that was a positive.

Overall, I gave this film an 8/10. The superb acting carries this movie. The story is mediocre (though probably very risqué when it debuted) in my opinion but the way each character fully embraces their role makes this film great. Not perfect, but great and definitely worth a watch if you haven't already seen it.