Mike Nichols's 'Final Scene In The Film The Graduate'

In Mike Nichols’s, The Graduate the final scene called the wedding scene is significant to the rest of the film because Benjamin Braddock’s (Dustin Hoffman) life after graduating college has been in chaos from not knowing where he fit in life after college, having an affair with one of his parent’s friends who ends up being the mother of the girl he falls in love with and then loses. Now, in this final scene Benjamin is going after the girl he loves before she gets married and it is too late. The scene opens with a medium side view shot of Benjamin in his car on the highway with the top down. His hair and hoody is blowing in the wind and the score by Simon and Garfunkel’s “Mrs. Robinson” is playing in the background. Then the shot transitions

The score “Mrs. Robinson” starts to change in loudness, as the long frontal tracking shot of Benjamin’s (Dustin Hoffman) car running out of gas, the music stays in rhythm with the car choking and stopping. Next, the car and music just stops and Benjamin (Dustin Hoffman) jumps out of the car and starts running up the road in a side tracking shot. Then the scene transitions and merges into extreme long shot. The music begins again as Benjamin arrives at the church with long shot. However, the front church doors are looked so he runs to the side of the church to enter. The scene transition to a low angle shot of the girl he loves, Elaine Robinson (Katharine Ross) about to get married down on the churches alter. As Elaine Robinson (Katharine Ross) leans in to kiss her soon to be husband the scene jumps cuts to a close up shot of Benjamin saying, “Oh, Jesus God! No!” The transition is now a low angle shot pointing up at Benjamin who is standing on the next floor up at the glass windows with his hands up in on the glass and his head hanging down. Next, a jump cut shot to the organ player then back to a close up of Benjamin’s face. At this point, Benjamin starts yelling,