REVIEW: GOOD WILL HUNTING (1997)
review by Chris Webb copyright 1998
to appear in Amherst Student 2/4/98
CAST: Matt Damon, Robin Williams, Stellan Skarsgard, Ben Affleck, Minnie Driver, Casey Affleck, Cole Hauser Directed by Gus Van Sant
"Good Will Hunting" is one film that had caused me to reevaluate where my life is going and how I am doing it. Perhaps because I have friends and conversations like these back home, and I have dealt with a similar struggle between picking my future and holding onto what is comfortable. For whatever reason, I could relate to this film. While many will sympathize with the characters and enjoy the story, young guys who have not had the world handed to them will benefit from seeing "Good Will Hunting."
Twenty-year-old genius, Will Hunting (Matt Damon), lives in South Boston working construction and as a janitor at MIT. He solves the problems left on a hallway chalkboard by professor Gerald Lambeau (Stellan Skarsgaard), an internationally acclaimed mathematician. Will does this anonymously, not wanting any part of the world of academia. He would rather spend time with his friend, bar-hopping and driving aimlessly, running up an unbelievable rap sheet. Lambeau takes time to seek Will out, only to discover him in jail for hitting a police officer. Will can be free if he agrees to work with Lambeau in higher math and to undergo therapy. The film hits full speed once Sean Maguire (Robin Williams) agrees to take on Will as a patient.
Themes that run through "Good Will Hunting" are layered. The nature of genius, class conflict, and the complexities of love and trust are all explored, not focusing solely on Will. Maguire and Lambeau old roommates took different paths after MIT. Maguire will not attend reunions, looked on as a sellout for leaving the upper echelon of the academy to teach in a Boston community college, finding his true love in the process. Lambeau, all awards and success, with little personal fulfillment, resents that Maguire was "smarter than me then, and smarter than me now." They argue about whether Will should follow his heart or his brain, while Will himself becomes lost in their bickering.
The screenplay was written by Damon and best friend Ben Affleck, who plays best friend Chuckie. They have deservedly won a Golden Globe for best screenplay and have jumped to the A-list of actors, after seeing smaller roles in the past. Affleck was found in this year's "Chasing Amy," for better or worse, and Damon has charged out with simultaneous roles in this and "The Rainmaker." He opened eyes in 1996's "Courage Under Fire" as a Gulf War vet turned heroin addict.
Robin Williams, gifted comedian, but better onscreen in dramas, has pulled himself out of purgatory after the disastrous "Fathers' Day" and "Flubber." With a character most akin to his teacher in "Dead Poet's Society," he serves as the mentor for Will in a cynical world.
Skarsgaard, a Swede recently landing English-speaking roles with this and 1996's "Breaking the Waves" is excellent as the professor who all-too-keenly recognizes his limitations. Minnie Driver performs well as a sheltered, wealthy college girl who turns into an emotional wreck as her relationship with Will becomes deeper.
Before attending "Good Will Hunting" the first time (three times total), my father pointed out that this was the film that reduced most guys to tears. A late scene between Damon and Williams will tug at you emotionally, and is reminiscent of an exchange between Judd Hirsch and Timothy Hutton in "Ordinary People." Both received Oscar nominations, with hutton winning as a supporting actor. "Good Will Hunting" is expected to garner its own slew of nominations, while the principals should get one. This could be Williams' year, as this character is the deepest one he has portrayed to date.
"Good Will Hunting" deeply affected me, for while I could not identify with all the struggles, I have had my share of run-ins with people. Freshman year I was told by a student here to ignore my friends from home if I wanted to make it. When Will is reminded by a pseudo-intellectual Harvard student that he will be serving his kids burgers, he responds, "That may be so, but at least I won't be unoriginal." Neither is this movie. It does not get caught up within itself the way most against-the-odds films do, and that is why this film will be one of the most fulfilling experiences you could have.
My grade: A
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