Great Performance By Damon, But The Movie As A Whole Was A Bit Of A Drag

Rating: 4/10 (29 May 2009)

Matt Damon was great. There's no doubt about that. His performance as Will Hunting - a genius who just doesn't fit into society and ends up as a janitor at MIT instead of a student - was fabulous, and made the movie worth watching. Unfortunately I personally didn't think there was much else fabulous about this. The story was modestly interesting, and the viewer certainly does want to know what eventually happens to Will. The ending was, strangely, both appropriately and unfortunately ambiguous, as Will leaves behind an opportunity to "make it" in order to pursue love. I say "appropriately" because the lack of resolution seemed to fit with the rest of his life, and "unfortunately" because it left me with no clear knowledge of what happened to him. The movie also raises valid questions about what it means to "fit in." Will didn't, because he wasn't doing what everyone thought he should do with his life, but - on the other hand - maybe that was just Will. Do we have to fit into a preconceived notion of what we should be doing? Fair question.
So, there was a lot of good stuff in the actual story. Now, I know this is a minority opinion, but I wasn't take with the rest of the cast: Steven Skarsgard as the professor who discovers Will and tries to mold him, Ben Affleck as Will's best friend from South Boston (who co-wrote the movie with Damon), Minnie Driver as Skylar - Will's burgeoning love interest, and Robin Wiliams as the counsellor who helps Will confront some of his past demons. None of them were bad, but they also didn't really grab hold of me. Frankly, I also found the movie dragged dreadfully at times and at a little over two hours was a bit too long as a result. Damon's standout performance helps this get a 4/10.