Review of Good Will Hunting (1997) by Payton M — 15 Mar 2018

Good Will Hunting is a 1997 drama that made 225.9 million dollars in box office earnings. It follows the story of Will Hunting, a 20 year old genius working as a janitor at MIT. While all his friends want him to do something with his life, he wants to stay where he is. After Will solves a graduate level math problem, Professor Gerald Lambeau is impressed with him, but Will soon gets arrested. Professor Lambeau makes a deal to keep Will out of jail, he has to study math with him and go to therapy once a week. Will refuses to take the therapy sessions seriously and multiple therapists refuse to talk to him again after only one session. Lambeau eventually goes to his former college roommate, Dr. Sean Maguire. Dr. Maguire gets Will to open up to him and helps him overcome his past and find what he wants. The purpose of the movie Good Will Hunting is to show that you only regret the chances you didn't take. I will show the purpose through plot, character, and conflict.

You only regret the chances you didn't take. That's how Dr. Sean Maguire feels about missing one of the greatest games in baseball history "to see about a girl." After will asks him if he really missed game six of the World Series to have a drink with a girl, he tells him, "I don't regret the 18 years I was married to Nancy. I don't regret the six years I had to give up counseling when she got sick. And I don't regret the last years when she got really sick. And I sure as hell don't regret missin' the damn game. That's regret.".

Throughout the film, Will's friends all want him to go to school, get a job, and do something with his life. Especially his best friend Chuckie. Every morning Chuckie hopes that Will's not home, that he finally left. He tells Will "Look, you're my best friend, so don't take this the wrong way. In twenty years, if you're still livin' here, comin' over to my house to watch the Patriots games, still workin' construction, I'll fuckin' kill you." "Hanging around here is a fuckin' waste of your time." He knows that Will is too smart to waste his life working construction when he could have an amazing job. Any one of their friends would kill for the opportunities Will has, yet he does nothing.

The main antagonist in Good Will Hunting is Will. The only thing holding him back from going to school and getting an amazing job is himself. When Professor Lambeau tells him he can be released as long as he does math and goes to therapy, Will laughs. He agrees to do the math but refuses to go to therapy. When he eventually gives in, he still doesn't take the therapy sessions seriously. He thinks he'll be happy where he is even though his friends know he's going to regret it eventually. After he talks to Dr. Maguire he realizes he needs to take the opportunity he's given.

Some people say that the theme of Good Will Hunting is education, but that's only part of it. Yes Will needed to go to school, but he also needed the therapy sessions. Skylar was also a big part of the movie. Will needed the therapy sessions and Skylar to realize what he would be missing if he didn't take the opportunity. It wasn't just about school.

Good Will Hunting was successful in showing the theme of regretting chances you never took. It was shown through Dr. Sean Maguire's character and throughout the plot of the movie. At the beginning he didn't care about his future but eventually he learned that he would regret passing up the opportunities that he was given.