Review of Good Will Hunting (1997) by Stevenf — 22 Apr 2013

A film that can easily be looked up to, Good Will Hunting is an underdog story in a sense, but its the battle within that is the most significant part of this fantastic film.

Matt Damon delivers a spellbinding performance as Will Hunting, a working class kid from Boston, and also a janitor, who, in his spare time of course, is a mathematical genius. The problem with this is that Will seems very reluctant to be noticed for his remarkable talents, but famed lecturer Gerald Lambeau (Stellan Skarsgård) takes it upon himself to mentor the young but flawed genius, who has a knack for getting into countless fights and all other forms of bad behaviour with his best pals Chuckie (Ben Affleck), Morgan (Casey Affleck) and Billy (Cole Hauser).

As Lambeau attempts to put Will through therapy, Will makes a mockery of the process, so Lambeau decides to send him to a longtime friend, Dr. Sean Maguire (Robin Williams), a roommate Lambeau's younger years. Sean immediately notices the similarities that he and Will share in regards to family life and past problems.

Written by Damon and Affleck, Good Will Hunting tells a trial and error story of how our pasts most definitely matter and make a difference to how our futures may take shape. Will is frightened to let anybody into his life, even giving up his remarkable abilities just so he can remain with people he trusts, and not get hurt again the way is troubled and horrific past show.

But the film is also cleverly funny, with the chemistry between Damon and Williams electrifying, bouncing off each other in fast-paced successions of dialogue and humour.

Robin Williams gives a magical and emotional performance as Will's eventual therapist, he holds troubles quite dear to himself that he could never speak about until this kid came along, something that certainly taught both characters a lesson.

The film does play out in a very predictable and often feel-good manner, but this isn't a bad thing, Will's character needed to develop and evolve to the new people in his life, including a girl (Minnie Driver) a student who falls for Will. With an Oscar for Damon and Affleck for their screenplay and a well-deserved Oscar for best supporting actor in Robin Williams, Good Will Hunting has all the ingredients of a well crafted, gifted and defining piece of cinema that still goes down as one of the best films of all time.