A Timeless Gem

Rating: 9/10 (4 November 2005)

I accidentally cached this movie on TV and as I didn't have anything else to do I sat down and watched it. I'm glad I did. I've heard good things about this movie, but didn't know too much about it. Never the less I really liked what I saw. This is truly a timeless classic and one of the best films there are.
Benjamin Braddock is an insecure 21 year-old who has a scholarship and a future a head of him. He just don't know what he want's to do with that future. He get's involved with Mrs. Robinson, the wife of his father's partner and long time family friend. Then one day the Robinson's daughter comes back home and after spending time with her, Ben sees his life heading in a new direction.
The story is great. It's a story that can be cute, funny, dramatic and intriguing. The screenwriter makes use of these possibilities and does so well. The story is well written and the characters are great. You get to love them and hate them and you get to understand their behavior. There's good drift in the story and you get interested and want to watch the rest.
Dustin Hoffman is excellent and nothing less. His portray of Ben Braddock is great. I don't think I've seen him deliver such a performance ever (not in those of his movies I've seen). Anne Bancroft as Mrs. Robinson is also great. She gives her character life (or lack of) in a great way. The rest of the cast also lives up to the leads and delivers great performances.
Like several films in the 60's this makes use of songs that would later become radio hits rather than a classic score. It works excellent. I, however, didn't like the way they played Scarborugh Fair three times in a row with a couple of minutes in between, but it still does the job very well and the rest of Paul Simons songs fits this movie like a glove. It sets the mood and is something more to listen to then just a score. It's different and it's excellent. The other sound work is also very good.
The cinematography is really a gem. The lightning is just nice and the composition of the shots are good. Only thing that pulls the cinematography down one point is some odd zooms that not always fit in, but that's not a big issue and apart from that it's excellent. The editing is also really good. There are some pretty nice transitions at one point and the rest of the film is nicely chopped as well. It's technically very good and very enjoying to watch.
The Graduate is a timeless gem. I saw it and didn't think for one second that this is the 60's. The theme is timeless and there are no particular references to the 60's. That makes this move great and enjoyable still today and I hope for generations to come. This is in my opinion a movie everyone could watch and enjoy.