Review of Good Will Hunting (1997) by William C — 26 Mar 2015

Grade: Just gets in at 8/10.

Good Will Hunting is a movie that gets so many people talking, it is loved by many and the performances too. I felt as I watched just why do so many love it, I didn't think it was perfection but there is no doubt this is an interesting piece of cinema with it's smart plot and emotionally charged characters. I did feel it was very good and although only just about, it still manages to really let you enjoy it.

The first thing to say about this is Robin Williams who is at his very best here. He just feels so excellent as his role as Sean Maguire who as you will see councils Will Hunting and he adds an extra element to this movie Robin does. All the cast are fairly strong here, Matt Damon as Will is good and really shows us what he has got for his future film career. Cast such as Ben Affleck aren't really shown as much as the two I mentioned but him among his brother Casey Affleck, Minnie Driver and Stellan Skarsgard form a good little cast for this type of film.

Ben Affleck and Matt Damon of course write the movie and they do a great job, not only capturing everyday life situations well, but adding in Will Hunting to those scenes to make it feel smart and funny. I did however feel it was slightly contrived, mostly in the way they want to get a certain emotion out of you, sometimes you can laugh and sometimes you can be sad, even times when they want you to think "Oh wow he's smart that Will Hunting". I will also add that the script though is really showcasing the talent these two guys have, and I do feel like these guys really are an example to look up to when aspiring screenwriters come up.

Gus Van Sant directs it well and his job is made easier by the fine script brought to him. He manages to delicately direct it without making the film feel done before or too much like a typical piece of cinema. Van Sant also could be said to contribute to Williams performance and you can see Gus really worked well with the cast to make them bring the most out of the script. Another delicate thing is the score, now when you making a film about a genius from Boston, Danny Elfman doesn't always spring to mind but he manages to beautifully score it and the music is really one thing I remember the most about watching the movie.

One good thing about the movie is that it is smart, not only in movie terms but in terms of the script and the actors who all seem to remember there lines so well, it almost feels like they all know mathematics like we see in the film. I think all the credit goes to Affleck and Damon who if I'm not mistaken, are not mathematic geniuses but do the screenplay in such a way that it feels like a professor has written parts of the film.

Overall it is the ending that is the real pay off, of course I'm not going to ruin it for you but lets just say it makes you feel emotion and really draws you close to the characters we see so much of in this movie. Overall this is totally worth a watch, not only for people thinking "It's Oscar nominated, it must be good", but also people who just want an interesting film, not for those who want action or true thrills but it is definitely one for the thinkers and maybe even the unidentified genius.