Graduation

I'm about to graduate from college. After four years--two great, two not so much--I am finally done with school. I am so happy about it, but a bit nervous, and for the most part, a dull, empty feeling has set in. In short, as much as I see possibility in the next few years, I feel a bit like Dustin Hoffman looks at the beginning of "the Graduate".

I've been trying to watch "the Graduate" for two years, and managed to do so just the other day. It began slowly and laboriously, trudging through Simon and Garfunkel's tunes like a man walking to his death. Hoffman's Benjamin Braddock did the same, acting as though his life was already over, even if it was just beginning. He seems apathetic towards everything, sitting and staring into space. His life is about to start, but he has no idea what to do, and that scares the hell out of him.

So, what does our young protagonist do? He lumps around his house, floating aimlessly in his pool and trying to avoid all of the congratulatory parties and friends his parents throw at him. He should probably be doing something, but he feels safer doing nothing. Either that, or he doesn't know what to do even if he wants to.

The movie itself is shot mostly in a dim light, and the slow music of Simon and Garfunkel add a feeling of sadness to it all. The songs aren't so out of date that it makes the movie seem silly, but they're classic enough to recognize them. They do not, though, distract from the movie--it seems, rather, that the songs are playing in Benjamin's head as he slumps through graduate life. It reminds me of hours spent on busses and at bus stations, waiting in offices or lines, and the songs that come to mind, punctuating the passing of time.

The acting is convincing, and the anger the characters feel is believable and understandable. The story is interesting, and the end of the movie--classic in its own right--opens it up to all new questions. Normally, I hate that sort of open-endedness, but here, it works.

I don't know what I'm going to do with my own life. I know I want to move around and live in a few different places. I want to teach, and I want to have a family someday. But for now, all I'm doing is sitting still and trying to figure out how I'm going to do anything. That, and watching as many good movies as I can. I'll take suggestions, and I'll recommend "the Graduate" to anyone who appreciates a good story and a movie well done.