Lots of emotion presented in a realistic way, though with a slightly weaker story.

Rating: 9/10 (21 January 2015)

Although this movie is slightly lacking in its storyline, this is overshadowed by its realism (or realisticness, whichever you prefer). I think people expect it to be a good story with people doing rather extraordinary things in context of an ordinary life. You could argue that the people in this movie are intellectually exceptional and that it is almost impossible for them to do anything ordinary, making my point from above incorrect. However, I think that Will's actions at the end prove that he leads an ordinary life. His conflict is one that everybody faces in one way or another at some point. He has the ability to work in an important job and be rich and famous for his mathematical abilities. However, he feels like following that path isn't worth his time as he states very clearly in his run-on about why he shouldn't join the NSA. My feeling is that he thinks he won't be good at a job like that because his heart won't be in it. At my high-school it seems like there are lots of higher achieving students who all say they either want to study law or medicine or something like that. While those are important and high-paying fields, I doubt that all of them are interested in that. This does not apply to everyone in that position of course, but it holds true for Will, as we see Lambeau try to push him and make him pursue things that Will doesn't want to.
This is where Sean steps up in a key role, because he understands exactly what Will is going through. As an associate and equal of Lambeau, he knows that not everyone with the potential for greatness is designed for greatness. Unlike Lambeau, he doesn't pressure Will into doing anything. Instead, he cross examines all of Will's mindsets to give him a better understanding of life. Sean's relation of how he met his wife sort of sums up the points he tires to show Will: that nobody understands you, so they should not be the ones to determine your future and should respect the choices you make. Of course, there are some problems with this theory, but if balanced with reason and temperance it is a pretty good philosophy. I might be completely wrong about that, but that's the main thing I got out of this movie.
With the loosely structured story, the characters and their relationships push the plot along. This mostly involves Will growing closer to Skylar and Sean as he becomes more distant from Chuckie and his other friends. Once he realizes that he is in danger of losing his old life, he lashes out at Lambeau and does the same to Skylar when he sees that he will probably lose her. So in short, the plot is driven by emotion.
This emotion and the events that it causes are balanced very well by the realisticness of the characters. They all have very believable flaws and strengths that conform with the rest of their personalities. Their decisions are mixed with human nature and the individual natures of the characters. The language included, while perhaps excessive in cinematic terms, does not feel over the top since the curses are used in contexts that real-life and unscripted people use them in.
The acting is about as good as it gets, but the script has room for criticism. The cinematography and other technical execution flows naturally, but has no outstanding features. Essentially, it's executed well enough that you shouldn't notice one way or the other.
I would recommend this movie to anyone who enjoys an emotional story, though not in a romantic or traumatic sense. There is comedy sprinkled throughout, but it should not be viewed in search of continuous laughs. Don't be deceived into thinking that it's a comedy because Robin Williams is in a main role. If you absolutely hate movies that have messages in them, be warned that this is one of those movies, but it kind of lets you take what you want from it in terms of a message. It's okay to watch with people that are prone to making comments throughout, as long as that doesn't distract you too much, but don't watch it at a party or anything. But, if you like a solid film, there's a good chance you'll enjoy the movie. Overall Rating: 8.6/10