Good Will Hunting (1997) Review

“How do you like them apples?”

THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.

Putting the past behind you is totally worthwhile and if you don’t think so, look at Good Will Hunting.


PLOT


The 1997 film follows Will Hunting, a self taught genius in mathematics with photographic memory that is deeply troubled for reasons he refuses to be open about. When on parole to be a janitor for MIT, he spends time with his friends: Chuckie Sullivan, Billy McBride (Cole Hauser) and Morgan O’Malley (Casey Affleck). At work, he anonymously solves a complex problem posted on a blackboard by Professor Gerald Lambeau as a challenge for his students. He later gets in a fight with a childhood bully, Carmine Scarpaglia (Rob Lyons) and gets charged for assaulting an officer when police intervene. He then retreats campus when getting caught solving another problem. When going out to a bar one night with his friends, he falls for a lady named Skylar who just graduated from Harvard and plans to attend Stanford University School of Medicine. When Lambeau later tracks down Will and becomes impressed of his pro se legal representation at his court appearance, he offers him to study under his supervision and take psychotherapy if he wants to avoid jail time. With him constantly mocking multiple therapists in the process, he reaches out to old college roommate Sean Maguire for help. He becomes the only one to hold his against Hunting since he threatens him for disrespecting his wife Nancy who passed away from cancer two years prior. As they continue having sessions together, he encourages him to open up on what troubles him and in the meantime, he starts dating Skylar but constantly lies of his past. In another session, Sean tells Will how he skipped seeing the 6th game of the ‘75 World Series over first falling for Nancy, infamously telling his friends he “had to go see about a girl”, which he never regretted. This doesn’t inspire him to take up many job offers Lambeau arranges, to the point where he gets Chuckie to con potential employers, but it does lead to him opening up to Skylar. When she calls him afraid to move to California with her, this forces him to admit he’s an orphan who went through abuse in foster care. Embarrassed, he breaks up with her and later ridicules Lambeau’s recent research. In another session, Sean still insists for him to figure out what he wants in life. While at work, Chuckie tells him for the first time to take the opportunities coming his way knowing he and the guys would if in his shoes; He then says the best part of his day is hoping he doesn’t answer the door implying he went to pursue a better life. After turning down an NSA position, Will would hear Sean argue with Lambeau that he’s pushing him too hard and when the professor moves on, Hunting gives Maguire details of past abuse. At the end of the conversation, he breaks down for the first time when Maguire repeatedly tells him what happened to him was never his fault. This inspires Will to take one of Lambeau’s job offers and is gifted a car on his 21st birthday by Chuckie for him to commute to work. As his friends later finds Will not answering the door the next day, the film ends with Sean reading a note left for him before intending to travel: 
“Sean- if the professor calls about that job, just tell him ‘Sorry, I had to go see about a girl -Will”.


THOUGHTS


Actors Matt Damon & Ben Affleck grew to be close friends over the youth in their lives & careers, knowing they had so much to give as overall filmmakers. Together, they took the chance to make an unforgettable script that would immortalize them. I say this with truth because it’s just so mesmerizing of a story that unfolds so beautifully. With Gus Van Sant’s strong direction and Danny Elfman’s pleasing score, we slowly digest what is truly a raw take that inspires us to truly engage with your life if you want to accomplish growth. Pulling off capturing this lesson what earns them the Original Screenplay Oscar they share, but it doesn’t come to life without their amazing performances onscreen. Will is arguably the best performance to come from Damon just due to being an ideal protagonist that knows he’s got a big brain but is insecure on embracing it due to never feeling worth a damn with the childhood he had. Ideally, he blocks any bit of legit connection because he’s so embarrassed of what he’s been through that he’d rather keep pushing away than be vulnerable. He’s afraid of abandonment that he’d rather self sabotage to save potential heartache to the point where it’ll drive people crazy. In turn, Affleck makes a great friend out of Chuckie because he knows his and Will’s to know who has a better chance at having a more stable future. It’s always one thing to know you got friends to share drinks with, but it’s better to have someone that wants you to do more for them and the fact he expresses this warms my heart. He could’ve said something sooner, but it’s better now than never. Deep down, Will does want connection and when he found love, he was just as lost as a child would wander in the jungle. Minnie Driver was a delight as Skylar because she’s just as direct in between all the fun she has, earning herself her only Supporting Actress Oscar nomination. Maybe it was impulsive for her to invite Will to California, but her gut feeling was better than not being honest the way Will was. Hunting was envious of people who had loving families while he didn’t, which made it harder for her to connect down the line. He can’t even say he loves her because he was never told that before until she did, which is a lot to digest for him too. Before he can make it right with Skylar, there was one person who truly saw him for himself. Robin Williams has always been a national treasure in my eyes for moving in each performance he got to do in his lifetime. Earning the Supporting Actor Oscar, the role of Sean is can be argued to be his best role because he is the mentor we all want in our lives, to just tell it like it is the moment he sees us, genuinely wise and empathetic. He is a man that truly lived life unlike Will because of the ups & downs with his wife and served in the Vietnam war. Due to also having an alcoholic father, he got an idea of the pain he was hiding and didn’t force the past to be confronted otherwise he’d be back to square one. He could’ve bailed on him the second he crossed the line, but continued giving him a chance because he still saw a kindred spirit he’s hiding from all. Once he told him all the abuse he went through in foster care was never his fault, Will was finally free from the mental shackles that was holding him back from the potential. At the same time, meeting him inspired him to move on from his wife by wanting to travel more than he did before. One more smile upon reminiscing was all it took for him to keep living to the fullest. Last but not least, I did enjoy Stellan Skarsgard as Lambeau because while not a straight up an antagonist, but he does feel like Will’s polar opposite since he finds glory to be his way to be happy rather than enjoy the little things. He sees Hunting’s potential as a genius, but nothing more and that is why Sean argues with him that there is more to life than glory. While he may not change his ways like Will would, he did accept that he needed to hear it, hence making amends with Maguire when it was all said and done. At this point, I do like to believe Will has a happily ever after the moment he drives to California hoping to set it right with Skylar. With Sean getting through to him overtime, he understood she meant well and all he can do now is let her decide if she wants him back. If not, then the effort to make change goes a long way as his peers have insisted for him to do. In short, Good Will Hunting is one of the best movies ever made for knowing exactly how to pull the heart strings and later inspire you to do more than you already can, earning its Best Picture in the process. If those are the kind of movies you prefer, see this now.

If you need support or want to talk about you or someone else has experienced, please contact RAINN at Rainn.org or dial 1-800-656-4673