← Back to Reviews
in
Good Will Hunting
(directed by Gus Vant Sant, 1997)
Here's a movie I wish I had added to my Top 100 list but didn't because it had been so long since I'd seen it. Good Will Hunting was almost a Tour de force for me -- I say almost because I sense a few flaws with this film. It's a marvelous story about a young man who is a genius and has a talent for math where it all is somehow simply easy for him and comes to him in a flash -- second nature. His name is Will Hunting (Matt Damon) and he lives in South Boston and works as a janitor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The story begins when a college professor (Stellan Skarsgard) writes up a difficult math problem on a chalkboard in the hallway and tells his classes that whoever solves it will get their name mentioned in the college paper and will probably get other awards and accolades afterwards. Funnily enough, Will the janitor swings by and solves it -- and then he solves another problem since he never came forward as the solver of the first problem. The second time, he's caught by Stellan Skarsgard, who thinks he's writing graffiti on the chalkboard, but then his jaw drops when he sees that the janitor is in fact a genius.
Will, however, is a difficult young man who has a history of assaulting people and getting into jail. As a child, he was physically abused by his stepdad. After Stellan Skarsgard goes and tracks him down at the police station (Will had been arrested for fighting) he gets him out and they begin finding him a therapist and a great paying job where he can use his gift. A bunch of goofy therapists are tossed to the side until Will meets Sean Maguire (Robin Williams), an old college roommate of Stellan Skarsgard (the professor, but I forget what his name was and don't care). It is Sean Maguire who knows how to reach Will and get him to change his life around. Along the way, there's a new girlfriend for Will, played by Minnie Driver, who goes to Harvard and is fascinated by him.
Now, the running time for this movie is about two hours. The first hour captivated me and had me glued to the seat, eyes wide open. The second hour sunk a little, but was still pretty good. Overall, I honestly think it's a pretty extraordinary movie and a true 1990's classic. Matt Damon and Robin Williams play very compelling characters and they work well no matter if they're in a scene together or by themselves. This is definitely one of the best serious roles Robin Williams ever took and he rightly deserved the Oscar for this role. Ben Affleck plays Will's best friend, Chuckie, and he also has a commanding character. Both he and Matt Damon wrote the screenplay for this movie and it's strong and beautiful.
Stellen Skarsgard did not really thrill me, but I think he did well with what he was portraying. Minnie Driver was interesting but I think her character is one of the script's weaknesses -- though she did a lot to make her character memorable, she also seemed a little underused. This movie also uses random flashbacks at times that don't feel necessary or used right. They were strange and irksome. I also feel that maybe Robin Williams was a little bit too overused -- he appears at the very end of the movie and quite frankly, I think it would have been better to have shown Minnie Driver again, since we see a lot of Robin Williams in the end already. Gus Van Sant, my eyes are on you. I recently saw your My Own Private Idaho, another movie that had hot guys in it, like this here Good Will Hunting with Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. I'm not very fond of him as a director (HELLO?! Psycho remake!) -- I think he mucks things up a bit with what he brings to the table. I would have been more interested in seeing this film directed by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. But still I am very happy with this movie -- I recommend it and I think it's warm and inspiring.
(directed by Gus Vant Sant, 1997)
Here's a movie I wish I had added to my Top 100 list but didn't because it had been so long since I'd seen it. Good Will Hunting was almost a Tour de force for me -- I say almost because I sense a few flaws with this film. It's a marvelous story about a young man who is a genius and has a talent for math where it all is somehow simply easy for him and comes to him in a flash -- second nature. His name is Will Hunting (Matt Damon) and he lives in South Boston and works as a janitor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The story begins when a college professor (Stellan Skarsgard) writes up a difficult math problem on a chalkboard in the hallway and tells his classes that whoever solves it will get their name mentioned in the college paper and will probably get other awards and accolades afterwards. Funnily enough, Will the janitor swings by and solves it -- and then he solves another problem since he never came forward as the solver of the first problem. The second time, he's caught by Stellan Skarsgard, who thinks he's writing graffiti on the chalkboard, but then his jaw drops when he sees that the janitor is in fact a genius.
Will, however, is a difficult young man who has a history of assaulting people and getting into jail. As a child, he was physically abused by his stepdad. After Stellan Skarsgard goes and tracks him down at the police station (Will had been arrested for fighting) he gets him out and they begin finding him a therapist and a great paying job where he can use his gift. A bunch of goofy therapists are tossed to the side until Will meets Sean Maguire (Robin Williams), an old college roommate of Stellan Skarsgard (the professor, but I forget what his name was and don't care). It is Sean Maguire who knows how to reach Will and get him to change his life around. Along the way, there's a new girlfriend for Will, played by Minnie Driver, who goes to Harvard and is fascinated by him.
Now, the running time for this movie is about two hours. The first hour captivated me and had me glued to the seat, eyes wide open. The second hour sunk a little, but was still pretty good. Overall, I honestly think it's a pretty extraordinary movie and a true 1990's classic. Matt Damon and Robin Williams play very compelling characters and they work well no matter if they're in a scene together or by themselves. This is definitely one of the best serious roles Robin Williams ever took and he rightly deserved the Oscar for this role. Ben Affleck plays Will's best friend, Chuckie, and he also has a commanding character. Both he and Matt Damon wrote the screenplay for this movie and it's strong and beautiful.
Stellen Skarsgard did not really thrill me, but I think he did well with what he was portraying. Minnie Driver was interesting but I think her character is one of the script's weaknesses -- though she did a lot to make her character memorable, she also seemed a little underused. This movie also uses random flashbacks at times that don't feel necessary or used right. They were strange and irksome. I also feel that maybe Robin Williams was a little bit too overused -- he appears at the very end of the movie and quite frankly, I think it would have been better to have shown Minnie Driver again, since we see a lot of Robin Williams in the end already. Gus Van Sant, my eyes are on you. I recently saw your My Own Private Idaho, another movie that had hot guys in it, like this here Good Will Hunting with Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. I'm not very fond of him as a director (HELLO?! Psycho remake!) -- I think he mucks things up a bit with what he brings to the table. I would have been more interested in seeing this film directed by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. But still I am very happy with this movie -- I recommend it and I think it's warm and inspiring.