Review of Good Will Hunting (1997) by The Panda — 16 Aug 2013

I'm going to start off saying, 1998 will forever be the year that Good Will Hunting got robbed from its academy award by Titanic, after watching this film again it just further reminded me of it. While the story arc can at times seem a little predictable it does it so dang well and the script deals with the story so well that even though this kind of inspirational arc has been done before it never strays from being engaging and brilliant.

Good Will Hunting follows Will Hunting (as played by Matt Damon) who is a janitor at MIT as well as working a construction job, the kid has an extreme gift for learning and academics that he is seen to be a wasted potential. After getting into a fight and almost having to serve time Prof. Lambeau bails him out, after discovering he solved one of his theorems, on the condition that he does math for him and take therapy. Although Matt Damon is very reluctant (for most the movie) about the therapy given by Sean Maguire (played brilliantly by Robin Williams) he goes through with it, if only to avoid being put back in jail. By just giving the general gist of the storyline it seems like a fairly predictable inspirational story, and in some ways you could see it like that, but then you would be missing so much of the brilliance of it. The movie (penned brilliantly by Damon and Affleck) takes a very simple story and premise and creates so many fantastic moments and scenes that all play out so well (it also helps that every actor in the movie gives a spot-on performance, especially in Damon and Williams' case, the two of them were extraordinarily moving in their scenes together and worked very well off of each other). Honestly, I do not think you can watch Good Will Hunting and not have the script and performances make you feel something, they are just that well done.

Another thing in Good Will Hunting's favor is that it is a two hour long movie and it keeps you engaged for the entire two hours. This is a spectacular feat in that most movies that are over 2 hours in length have a hard time keeping you engaged for the entire two hours (or longer), they almost always have a part where you may lose focus or drift off for a second, Good Will Hunting never has that moment where it loses your attention, once it grabs it your attention belongs to the film until the credits start rolling. I have to think that the only explanation for how it is able to accomplish this is that every element of the film works and keeps you engaged, the direction is great, the screenplay fantastic, the performances are phenomenal, the ensemble and chemistry is also so good you can't really point out a weak link where you are like, "That's the guy, that's the one thing that's wrong with the movie." That is because unlike a lot of movies, every character has their purpose, all the characters are well developed, even the minor ones, and all the actors play their roles (even the minor ones) to the standard as if they were the lead of the film, there is no actor who slacks off and gives a lousy performance. And again, this is most likely due to the fact because everything else worked and so the acting fell into place as well.

On a more technical note, the soundtrack does a very good job at keeping the mood of the film, sure it's not the most groundbreaking soundtrack ever, but it does its purpose and it does its purpose well. The cinematography is also done well, and yes there isn't anything groundbreaking but there isn't many groundbreaking shots you can take with a film like this, however there are many nice pictures made and it is also done well that there can't be a complaint about it.

I will give my one small gripe about this film however, and it is very (very) nit-picky, it is that I would have ended the film at *SPOILER* the character Affleck plays (Chuckie) leaving to find that Damon had left and Robin Williams picking up the letter. I honestly didn't need to hear the letter, it should have left it ambiguous and even ending with the same car driving except with a cut on what the actual letter said (Robin Williams could have even said, "He stole my line", out loud after reading it). I think leaving a little ambiguity would have made the ending more interesting where the viewer can pretty much assume where Damon is going to go but it isn't told to them, just one more little piece for the viewer to link themselves is good, it makes it more interesting. But again, that was very nit-picky and isn't really a flaw in the movie.

Overall, Good Will Hunting is another classic that the 90s produced that sadly got overshadowed by the good but less deserving Titanic (similarly how Shawshank and Pulp got overshadowed by Forrest Gump, although I like Gump a lot better than Titanic (although it didn't deserve the oscar over shawshank or Pulp Fiction) and Pulp and Shawshank have larger followings than Good Will Hunting has today). Bolstered by powerful performances by Damon and Williams as well as a moving script and excellent direction, Good Will Hunting is a rare film that gets everything right, and one of my personal favorites that came from the 90s era. 10/10 for Good Will Hunting.