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 at the next booth over. Driver also handles the dramatic well, delivering a tear-jerking, Oscar Moment as she tries to get close to the ever allusive Will.
Also true to life is Will's relationship with his best friend Chuckie (Ben Affleck). Damon and Affleck grew up together in Boston and would later collaborate on the screenplay for Hunting. They had both had several small roles in the past, but not enough to impress Hollywood executives. A few studios liked the script, but didn't want Damon and Affleck. Finally, Kevin Smith (Clerks, Dogma), who knew Affleck from working with him in several projects, jumped in to produce. Fortunately, for the movie and for us, he insisted that Damon and Affleck be brought in to play the roles they had written for themselves.
Will and Chuckie, along with the other members of their gang, Morgan (Ben's brother Casey Affleck) and Billy (Cole Hauser), bum around South Boston day after day. You get the feeling that this has been going on forever, and would continue to go on forever had Will's intelligence not been discovered.
Although the guys' conversations are usually playful and sometimes vulgar, Affleck delivers a serious performance as he not-so-subtly tells Damon that if he doesn't use his abilities, he'll kill him.
Arguably the best performance in the movie is that of Williams. At the time he made Hunting, he had only made a handful of serious movies (now it seems like that's the only kind of films he makes these days). His portrayal of sage psychology professor Sean Maguire was enough to win him the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in 1998, and it's not hard to see why. Two years after his wife's death, Sean is still frozen with grief. But as he becomes friends with Will and we see Will let down his guard, we also see Sean becoming more active in his own life. He even faces arrogant Lambeau and says what he's always wanted to say.
Dynamic performances abound in Good Will Hunting. It's obvious that the whole crew was passionate about the story. However, it did meet some harsh reviews when it first came out. Movie reviewer James Berardinelli says that "Good Will Hunting is an ordinary story told well." Sure, the plot may be nothing new, but it's the way that it was written, acted, and directed that make it great. Berardinelli also wrote that, "Taken as a whole, there's little that's special about this tale - it follows a traditional narrative path, leaves the audience with a warm, fuzzy feeling, and never really challenges or surprises us." I disagree with this. I think the film is intelligent and artistic. The screenplay puts it in a league of its own. The dialog between characters is natural, laid back, and sometimes profound. It flows smoothly between Will interacting with his friends at the local bar and Sean delivering awe-inspiring monologues in his office. We get to know the characters on a deep level because really, they just talk the whole time.
So before you go see the newest Bourne Identity movie or, heaven forbid, Gigli, go see where these two young Bostonians got their start. You won't regret spending time with the resonant characters of Good Will Hunting.