Will Hunting is a smart, streetwise and cocksure young man. The world is his oyster because he is a mathematical genius.
Will Hunting is an ignorant, blinkered and frightened kid. The world is his obstacle because he is a mathematical genius.
Good Will Hunting is an intriguing film because both of the above tell the truth. Will Hunting (Matt Damon) is a complex and fascinating character with two pressing issues to face: how should he play the remarkable hand he's been dealt, and, when push comes to shove, does he want to play it at all?
Throwing into this mix a load of unconfronted childhood trauma waiting to bubble to the surface, best buddies Ben Affleck and Matt Damon sure knew the formula for an Oscar-winning original screenplay.
Good Will Hunting gets under your skin in several places because it follows Will in several directions and makes Will react in several ways. There's the desperation of a university maths lecturer, Gerald Lambeau (Stellan Skarsgård), to make Will solve the unsolved. There's Will's battle of wills with his shrink Sean Maguire (Robin Williams) that rages at the heart of the story. There's the fear that comes with fulfilling great potential. There's the fear that comes with committing to a relationship with an affectionate young woman (Minnie Driver). There's the temptation to play in the minor league, to stay top dog among his carefree blue-collar buddies (Ben Affleck et al).
It is a pity that Damon and Affleck have spent so much of their subsequent Hollywood careers in front of cameras instead of behind writing desks. What might they have come up with instead had they been furiously writing for the last half-decade? Their dialogue is straightforward and realistic, yet unrelentingly insightful at the same time. With a few lines of snappy repartee, they can distil the essence of any quarterlife musing.
They 'get' different characters too. It's not just a case of male, female, old, young, smart, dim, etc. Good Will Hunting is full of three-dimensional realisations. The acting is good, but it's the script that convinces. Robin Williams could have won his Oscar with just one scene: the monologue on the park bench is the stuff that awards are made of. He had the right material, so he won.
Complete with steady direction from Gus Van Sant and a beautiful soundtrack from the late Elliott Smith, Good Will Hunting is a refreshingly original character-driven film, confident that it doesn't need to pull any unusual stunts to get a rise from the audience. How do you like them apples?
Copyright © Robert Hayward 2002-2005
Rating:
2.0 / 5
(8 votes)
|
6551 views
|
Previous
|
Next
|
Best prices on Good Will Hunting
|
Print
|
Email page