Gus
Van Sant’s “Good Will Hunting” is a very effective dramatic film that could
appear in one of those “Before they were Famous” specials. Matt Damon and Ben
Affleck, who were both supporting actors at the time, wrote the screenplay.
Their words and individual performances earned them both Oscar nominations in
1997 before they went on to become major movie stars. Casey Affleck, brother of
Ben, has a supporting role, and he also would eventually move on to bigger
things.
I
remember seeing the Oscars in 1997 and knowing this movie was a big deal, but I
never got time to see it. I was probably too busy adjusting to living Chile,
having recently moved from Newfoundland. About ten years later I finally rented
it and watched it in my off-campus room near the University of Sherbrooke. I
was studying English, not math, so I couldn’t really indentify with a main
character who is a closeted math genius. Yet on some level, I think there is
something for everyone in this story.
Matt
Damon plays the titular Will Hunting, a young man living in Boston working a
blue-collar job like his many loyal friends. He spends his days cleaning up at
Harvard University, the Mount Everest of American education. One day as he is
cleaning the floor in a classroom, he notices a mathematical equation on the
board. With seemingly no difficulty he solves it, indicating he could do more
than clean up on campus.
The
following day Professor Lambeau (Stellan Skarsgärd) is pleasantly surprised to
see someone has solved the problem on his board as he had left as a challenge
to his students. He is further surprised when no one rises up to claim the
credit. One night he catches Will solving yet another equation, but Will runs
off as though shamed by his intelligence. Desperate to nurture this diamond in
the rough, Lambeau bails out Will when he get into a fight with a police
officer, on the condition that he becomes his student and he seeks counselling.
A
funny montage shows Will mocking whatever councillor comes his way. It turns
out he is not only good with numbers; he can also throw people off. As a last
resource, Lambeau reaches out to his old colleague Sean Maguire (Robin
Williams) with whom he has a tenuous history. Over time Sean does manage to
break through with Will since he see through his defences.
Most
importantly, they share about the one thing all men can talk about: women. Will
has begun a relationship with Skylar (Minnie Driver) a student about to
graduate from Harvard with plans to further her education in California. Shamed
of the poor neighbourhood where he grew up, Will is hesitant to let her into
his life. Having lost his wife, Sean encourages him not too waste any time.
Despite
his gift, Will is like all young men his age. He is at a crossroads and
hesitates where to go next. Lambeau has many connections that could lead to
high paying jobs but Will feels so much loyalty to his childhood friends that
he wishes to stay in Boston and work with them as a labourer. Even his best
friend Chuckie (Ben Affleck) believes that would be the wrong move. If any of
Will’s friends had his gift with numbers, most of them would probably never
hesitate to leave.
Those
honest scenes are what earned this movie the Academy Award for best original
screenplay. What earned Robin Williams his Oscar for best supporting actor are
the therapy scenes between Sean and Will. One of my favourites was Sean’s
re-telling of a historic Baseball game involving his future wife. I am not a
baseball fan, but you could feel it was a one heck of a game.
This
movie is about finding your place in life and choosing what is most important
to you as you embark on your journey. I am no math genius nor do I have Will’s
emotional baggage, but having recently been through college and university, I
know what it’s like to hesitate where to go next in life. We all have to make
heavy choices some day. Seeing this movie is a very good choice for the
writing, superb acting and directing.
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