Topic > Analysis of film techniques in The Graduate by Mike Nichols

The film The Graduate (1967) is a romantic comedy directed by Mike Nichols. It is based on the 1963 novel by Charles Webb. The main character, Benjamin Braddock (Dustin Hoffman) is a college graduate in his early twenties. He returned home to Pasadena, California. There he is bombarded with questions about his future and what he plans to do now that he has graduated. Other notable characters include Mrs. Robinson (Anne Bancroft) and Eline Robinson (Katherine Ross), who is Ben's love interest. Mrs. Robinson is guilty of seducing Ben and then he falls in love with Eline, who is Mrs. Robinson's daughter and she has warned him to stay away from her. Overall, the theme of the film is about Ben avoiding his future and looking for a distraction. He needs to come to terms with his identity before it's too late. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay In the film The Graduate, the story, the editing, the cinematography, the sound, the staging and, most notably, the direction. All these elements coincide to make an award-winning film. However, the directorial aspect of the film wins out. The film won an Academy Award for Best Director thanks to Mike Nichols. Nichols' camerawork revealed the emotional substance of the story and its characters, so that the viewer always feels aligned with the rhythm of the story. Cropped close-ups align us with the characters and give us insight into the emotional subtleties of their moods. The tight shots illustrate the claustrophobia and confinement Benjamin feels in his situation. Another noteworthy element of Nichols' direction is the freedom of tone, which quickly shifts from comic to dramatic, finding the ridiculous in even the most dire circumstances. As a result, this film received praise thanks to Nichols. After all, the director controls much of what happens outside and on the scene. In addition to the admired direction, the film also has an exceptional narrative. For example, the viewer immediately understands that Ben is the protagonist and what his conflict is. In the first scenes, and when he meets Mrs. Robinson, you can see the embarrassment Ben felt, and how at the same time he felt intrigued by her. The next stage of Ben's character development occurs when he meets Eline, Mrs. Robinson's daughter. Eline later rejects him after discovering his attachment to her mother. Ben's transformation as a character ends when he understands what he wants from his life and decides to escape from society and then return to his beloved. As a result, the narrative in the film is told simply, but it is breathtaking because Mike Nichols creates a feeling of gratitude and, if you caught it, his hidden sarcasm. Moving on to the editing in the film, "The Graduate" is an example of a picture in which there is nothing redundant and the content of the frame is carefully chosen, as well as the story and atmosphere to unite all the unique characters and create a narrative space. For example, in the first scene, we are at Mrs. Robinson's house, where the landlady attempts to seduce Ben. The combination of bright light and contrasting colors creates a tense atmosphere. Another example is the smooth yet dramatic transitions between scenes. When one scene flows into another, it is an important reflection of the rhythmic relationships of the chosen environments and settings that reveal the protagonist and his senses, reflecting the spatial relationships of the shots. The characteristic shot change is shown in the scene where Ben is having fun in bed with Mrs. Robinson, then he gets up and walks out the door and is now no longer in the hotel, but at home, in his room. There he goes out and dives into the pool. Every detail, including minor ones, has.