GOOD WILL HUNTING (Be Gentlemen Limited Partnership / Lawrence Bender Productions / Miramax Films)
MPAA Certification: R Genre: Drama Cast: Robin Williams, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Minnie Driver, Stellan Skarsgård Directed by Gus Van Sant
My personal rating: 5+ out of 6
GOOD WILL HUNTING was to me a very warm-hearted, intelligent and well-conceived story of a 20-year-old boy, Will Hunting (Damon), whose skills in mathematics and general science are tremendous. He suffers from a difficult childhood, and together with his friends, he has been involved in robberies, fighting, and vandalism. A mathematics professor, Gerald Lambeau (Skarsgård), discovers Will's abilities, and attempts to make use of him in his mathematical research. But upon realizing that Will is uncooperative and difficult to handle, professor Lambeau persuades Will to see a therapist, Sean Maguire (Williams), who was Lambeau's room-mate in college. Throughout the rest of the movie we follow the growing friendship between Will and Sean, and Will's new-found love, Skylar (Driver). Will Hunting must understand who he really is, and attempt to deal with his past. Only then might he be ready to face the future ...
Ben Affleck (starring Will's friend Chuckie) and Matt Damon has written a very impressive screenplay, and I was not surprised that they snatched an Academy Award for it. Although the story is somewhat predictable (several times we know what the next move will be), I find it charming and quite good. The ending might be a bit slow, but it's surprising and lovely. Robin Williams shows once and for all that he can do drama roles, and Matt Damon is very convincing as Will Hunting. Even the Swedish actor, Skarsgård, seems to do well in Hollywood pictures. His role is very basic and unemotional but not cardboard-like. Generally speaking, all the actors did their part, and brought the movie to a place among the best of 1997.
Reviewed by Stian M. Landgaard, April 12th, 1998
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