The iconic soundtrack Roger Ebert called “instantly forgettable”
Out of all the film critics who have risen to celebrity status, Roger Ebert is easily one of the most well-known. His opinions were so bold and unforgiving, often reaching comical levels as he panned movies like Freddy Got Fingered and Caligula for wasting his time and offending his eyes. He even got into feuds with filmmakers like Vincent Gallo, who didn’t appreciate Ebert’s less-than-positive review of The Brown Bunny.
Many of Ebert’s reviews were valid, although he’s slated some really great movies, like Taste of Cherry and Betty Blue, calling the former “excruciatingly boring”. He even returned to movies decades later to re-review them, assembling new opinions on movies he once praised. One of these is The Graduate by Mike Nichols, released in 1967, which he initially gave four out of four stars.
For many people, that period after graduating from university can feel murky and uncertain. After several years of having classes to attend and assignments that must be completed, you’re suddenly left with no specific responsibilities other than the knowledge that you need to get a job. The Graduate perfectly portrays these feelings of anxiety and being adrift, albeit from a very privileged perspective. Benjamin Braddock, the main character in Nichols’ film, is able to go back to his rich parents’ house to simply lounge in the pool and contemplate what’s next for him.
He is lucky enough to be able to use this time to ‘plan’ rather than actually get a job, but Nichols reveals the malaise of the upper-middle class through Ben before his career has even begun. The director seems to suggest that the inevitability of entering into a capitalist life, working for the man and sacrificing true happiness for the sake of earning money, is a miserable and lonely endeavour – one that Ben will inevitably be subsumed into.
He meets Mrs Robsinson, a bored housewife, and soon embarks on an affair in an attempt to distract himself and fill the void. Ebert thought the movie was really funny, writing, “This is outrageous material, but it works in The Graduate because it is handled in a straightforward manner. Dustin Hoffman is so painfully awkward and ethical that we are forced to admit we would act pretty much as he does, even in his most extreme moments.”
However, one aspect of the movie he was less keen on was the music provided by Simon and Garfunkel. The folk duo donated songs like ‘The Sound of Silence’ and ‘Mrs Robinson’ to the movie, but Ebert was not impressed. After praising Nichols as a director, he added, “His only flaw, I believe, is the introduction of limp, wordy Simon and Garfunkel songs and arty camera work to suggest the passage of time between major scenes.”
30 years later, Ebert dropped a star in his rating of the film, stating that it didn’t hold up and calling it “dated”. His take on the music, however, wasn’t as negative. “When the movie was first released, I wrote of the ‘instantly forgettable’’ songs by Simon and Garfunkel. History has proven me wrong. They are not forgettable.”
Ebert recognised the power of using these folk tracks to represent Ben’s character. “The S&G songs are melodic, sophisticated, safe. They even accommodate the action, halting their lyrics and providing guitar chords to underline key moments. This is Benjamin’s music; Mrs. Robinson, alone with her vodka, would twist the radio dial looking for the Beatles or Chuck Berry.” Sadly, though, Ebert thought that after watching it several decades later, the movie had lost its “original focus and power”.
