Revisited - Good Will Hunting (1997)

One of my all-time favorite movies is and always will be Good Will Hunting. I first discovered the film when me and my older sister decided to watch a bunch of Robin Williams films which included Patch Adams, Jumanji, Mrs.Doubtfire, Good Morning Vietnam and the list of course goes on and on, the guy had that many hit movies. He was a legend in and out of the studio and was a fantastic actor that could grab you with his hilarious scenes just as much as his serious ones. He was a great actor but most importantly a great person and a day ago he would have turned 69 so in honor of him and the person he was, I wanted to do a post dedicated to such a giant in our society. Not only does he deliver a great performance in this film but Matt Damon and Ben Affleck who acted and wrote the film delivers performances that have become their best still in their individual long movie careers.

I can't really say much that hasn't been said already about this film. It's a solid film with no holes to poke through or no cringy moments to mention, the film literally hits it out of the park on Matt Damon's and Ben Affleck's first go. The acting is incredible, the writing is amazing, and the story pulls at your heart strings with such a immaculate performance by Robin Williams and Matt Damon. It's also a story that has aged beautifully and is still powerful to this day, hell the whole movie is still. This movie is a classic for a very good reason and Robin Williams winning the oscar for this film was no fluke for he delivers the best performance I've ever seen as he steals the show anytime hes on screen. Alas, this is a movie worth every 5 star review it has been given.

Good Will Hunting is a 1997 American drama film directed by Gus Van Sant and written by Affleck and Damon as well as starring Robin Williams, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Minnie Driver, and Stellan Skarsgård. The film grossed over $225 million during its theatrical run, from a $10 million budget. For the 1998 Oscars, it was nominated for nine Academy Awards, including the Academy Award for Best Picture, and won two: Best Supporting Actor for Williams and Best Original Screenplay for Affleck and Damon.

Twenty-year-old Will Hunting (Matt Damon) of South Boston is a self-taught genius, though he works as a janitor at MIT and spends his free time drinking with his friends Chuckie, Billy, and Morgan. When Professor Gerald Lambeau posts a difficult mathematics problem on a blackboard as a challenge for his graduate students, Will solves the problem anonymously, stunning both the students and Lambeau. As a challenge to the unknown genius, Lambeau posts an even more difficult problem. Will flees when Lambeau catches him writing the solution on the blackboard late at night. At a bar, Will meets Skylar (Minnie Driver), a British woman about to graduate from Harvard College, who plans on attending medical school at Stanford.

The next day, Will and his friends fight a gang who used to bully Will as a child. Will is arrested after he attacks a responding police officer. Lambeau sits in on his court appearance and watches Will defend himself. He arranges for him to avoid jail time if he agrees to study mathematics under Lambeau's supervision and participate in therapy sessions. Will tentatively agrees, but treats his therapists with mockery. In desperation, Lambeau calls on Dr. Sean Maguire, his college roommate, who now teaches psychology at Bunker Hill Community College. Unlike other therapists, Sean actually challenges Will's defense mechanisms, and after the first session where Sean threatens Will after he insults his deceased wife and a few unproductive sessions, Will begins to open up.

Will is particularly struck by Sean's story of how he met his wife by giving up his ticket to the historic game six of the 1975 World Series, after falling in love at first sight. Sean does not regret his decision, even though his wife died of cancer. This encourages Will to build a relationship with Skylar, though he lies to her about his past and is reluctant to introduce her to his friends or show her his rundown neighborhood. Will also challenges Sean to take an objective look at his own life, since Sean cannot move on from his wife's death.

Lambeau sets up a number of job interviews for Will, but Will scorns them by sending Chuckie as his "chief negotiator", and by turning down a position at the NSA with a scathing critique of the agency's moral position. Skylar asks Will to move to California with her, but he refuses and tells her he is an orphan, and that his foster father physically abused him. Will breaks up with Skylar and later storms out on Lambeau, dismissing the mathematical research he has been doing. Sean points out that Will is so adept at anticipating future failure in his interpersonal relationships that he deliberately sabotages them in order to avoid emotional pain. Chuckie likewise challenges Will over his resistance to taking any of the positions he interviews for, telling Will he owes it to his friends to make the most of opportunities they will never have, even if it means leaving one day without looking back. He then tells Will that the best part of his day is a brief moment when he waits on his doorstep thinking Will has moved on to something greater.

Will walks in on a heated argument between Sean and Lambeau over his potential. Sean and Will share and find out that they were both victims of child abuse. Sean helps Will to see that he is a victim of his own inner demons and to accept that it is not his fault, causing him to break down in tears. Will accepts one of the job offers arranged by Lambeau. Having helped Will overcome his problems, Sean reconciles with Lambeau and decides to take a sabbatical. Will's friends present him with a rebuilt Chevrolet Nova for his 21st birthday. Later, Chuckie goes to Will's house to pick him up, only to find that he is not there, much to his happiness. Will sends Sean a letter telling him to tell Lambeau that he had to go "see about a girl", revealing he passed on the job offer and instead is heading to California to reunite with Skylar.

I can't say much else on this film besides to stop reading this and go watch the film right this minute. This film I feel like can be watch anytime but I feel that it's most powerful when it's watch when your in a slump. Every now and then life throws you a curve ball and it's up to you to hit. Of course, sometimes you snuff it and miss and then you got two strikes to your name and you got two outs. The bases are loaded and if you could hit this one out of the park, you'll win. Thats how things are decided in life. When the pressures on do you fold or do you hit it out the park? Thats what this film tries to deliver to you as it's message. When you have the cards to win, do you keep going or do you call it there? So? What is it going to be? This has been Revisited, thanks for reading. Ricardo Signing Off