by Liz Orton

Created on: April 05, 2007   Last Updated: May 09, 2007

Good Will Hunting is a fresh, warm, and clever film that has become an instant classic. Not only does Good Will Hunting tell the story of Will Hunting's success, but also underneath is the story of the film's creators' success. But more than anything else, Good Will Hunting is about relationships. Even though we are flawed beings, there is someone out there who we are perfect for. Having loyal friends who would "take a bat to our enemy's head" is more important than being rich and famous. Writers Matt Damon and Ben Affleck take us on a journey of self-discovery as we follow Will Hunting and his friends in this dialogue-rich film.

Will Hunting (Damon) is a self-taught genius from South Boston. An orphan, he grew up in foster care where he was repeatedly abused by his caretakers. However, he found solitude in books. He describes his abilities the same as Mozart or Beethoven, who could look at a piano and play music, "When it came to [remembering what I read], I could always just play." While working as a janitor at MIT, Will solves a difficult math problem on the hallway chalkboard. Math professor Gerald Lambeau (Stellan Skarsgard) tracks him down at the local courthouse where Will is defending himself for hitting a police officer. Lambeau makes a deal with the judge Will goes free provided that he meets with Lambeau once a week to work on math, and also that he meets with a psychologist once a week.

After a succession of psychologists refuse to meet with Will, Lambeau begs a former college friend (Robin Williams) to see Will. Over the next few months we see an evolution of Will's character as Sean (Williams) teaches him that he can't judge people by things he's read in books. In the end, Sean also learns a little something from Will.

The two characters parallel each other. Will is afraid to experience life because he's been hurt in the past and feels like he's not good enough to experience happiness. Sean is afraid to move on after his beloved wife passed away. Will doesn't like to get too close to people because then you realize they're not perfect. But Sean teaches him that the imperfections are "the good stuff."

Will and his girlfriend Skylar's relationship balances between intense love and uncertain fear. Driver and Damon have amazing chemistry on screen, perhaps because the actors were involved during the filming. Scenes where they're laughing together or when they're with Will's friends are so natural the audience feels like we're watching a group of people

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