The Graduate is a classic film and a very interesting movie. It is a great example of how sound and editing enhance a film.

Rating: 9/10 (4 May 2013)

The Graduate is a story about a young man trying to figure out what to do with his life after college. It is a common theme even today, a young man or woman tries to find his or her way and ends up getting taken advantage of and manipulated.
Benjamin Braddock, played by Dustin Hoffman, just returns home after graduating college. Benjamin's parents are proud of him and begin his homecoming by parading him before all their closest friends. Benjamin is pursued and ends up in an adulterous affair with Mrs. Robinson, played by Anne Bancroft. Katherine Ross plays Elaine Robinson, the engaged daughter of Mrs. Robinson and Benjamin's childhood friend, returns home from college and throws a monkey wrench in Mrs. Robinson's affair. Elaine discovers the affair and wants nothing to do with Benjamin. Benjamin continues to pursue Elaine until Elaine leaves her own wedding and runs off with Benjamin.
The film portrays Benjamin as naïve, impressionable, lonely and lost. Benjamin wants to take some time off but everyone wants to know what he will do next. Mrs. Robinson is there to lend a helping hand or in this case her whole helping body. She manipulates him into having an affair with her and soon everything goes wrong for Benjamin. This movie can draw parallels from Risky Business. In Risky Business Tom Cruise plays Joel Goodson, a teen who is unsure about life, is left alone by his parents and soon ends up way over his head in trouble.
The film uses many songs to tell the inner story of how lost Benjamin was. The Simon and Garfunkel song, The Sound of Silence, is used in a scene in the hotel room when Mrs. Robinson and Benjamin are first alone. The film jump cuts to complete darkness and the only noise playing is the song. This song expresses Benjamin's inner story of being lost and unsure if he is doing the right thing.
The film makes great us of visible sounds. Benjamin and Elaine are leaving on a date in Benjamin's new red convertible. Benjamin was racing the car down the street. The sounds of a car racing and shifting really enhances the scene. Elaine's hair blowing in the wind also contributed to feeling of reckless speed.
Several times in the film, Benjamin was under water. Once in a scuba suit and other times just with a mask. These scenes have all the dead space filled with water and Benjamin standing up on the bottom of the swimming pool. These scenes are nice examples of slow motion techniques used to intensify the loneliness that Benjamin felt. Slow motion editing was also used to intensify the nervousness Benjamin felt when he was walking from the hotel bar to the hotel registration desk to secure a hotel room.
The Graduate is a great film. It is full of examples of how sound and editing enhance a film.