Brilliant.

Rating: 8/10 (9 February 2011)

On any given day, I probably would have spent my evening reading, or playing video games, or watching TV. Today, however, I decided to log onto Netflix and see what was available to "Watch Instantly." I looked under the "Recommended for You" section and saw the title of a film I had only ever heard of. I had never bothered to ask anyone what it was about; my parents had told me a while ago that it was a great movie, but naturally I hadn't listened (after all, it was rated R). I couldn't even make out the actors on the tiny image of the DVD box. All I recognized was the title: Good Will Hunting. I was done with my homework, I didn't have anything constructive to do, and I was bored, so I clicked on the link that read, "Play Movie". I'm glad I did.
This film, written by two former Harvard students and great friends, is by far one of the most incredible films I have ever seen. From the opening kaleidoscopic views of physics equations to the final shot of a junky car heading west on the highway, I was intrigued, to say the least. To anyone who hasn't seen it, you don't realize the sheer beauty of these simple camera shots. To anyone who has, you know exactly what I mean. The story follows Will Hunting (Matt Damon), a janitor working at MIT who is far smarter than the mathematics professors teaching there. It is later revealed that he had a tough childhood, is an orphan, and never had a chance to go to a school like MIT, but by proving an incredibly difficult theorem he shows Professor Gerald Lambeau (Stellan Skarsgård) that he has an amazing gift for mathematics. One thing leads to another, and the only way Will can stay out of jail for assault charges is if he gets therapy from Professor Sean McGuire (Robin Williams), a teacher at a community college. Through this therapy, Will comes to realize that he has too much potential to throw away his life living in South Boston. This story runs parallel to Will's love life with Skylar (Minnie Driver), a student at Harvard University. This relationship could have ended up as a pointless plot addition to make the movie longer, but it actually becomes pretty vital to the plot of the movie and completely changes Will's life. The combination of a love story and the story of a genius who finally realizes his full potential makes a brilliant film.
This film's story is amazing, but a great film doesn't only have a good story. A great film has a great story, great acting, great scenery, great music, and great symbolism. Good Will Hunting has all of these aspects, and more. The fact that this movie was written by two amateur filmmakers only emphasizes their movie-making skill, and the fact that they can actually act is what fuses the incredible plot to the rest of the movie. If anyone else had been cast as the lead roles of Will Hunting and Chuckie Sullivan (Ben Affleck), the movie probably wouldn't have captured all the aspects that make up this great film. It is a very good thing Matt Damon and Ben Affleck adopted these roles, but the inclusion of Robin Williams in this film takes it up a level. Williams' ability to perfectly transition from jokes to concern to even violence is a blatant sign that he is a great actor, and without him this film could not have succeeded. Aside from the obvious acting and plot aspects of the movie, Good Will Hunting is also stunningly symbolic. Whether Damon and Affleck meant to add so many symbols to the film or not, they did so seamlessly. I won't add any plot spoilers, but let me tell you: if you can recognize the true meaning in films, you will devour this movie.
I am grateful to Netflix, to say the least. I don't know what their policy is on making movies available to watch online, but I do know that this policy is definitely a good one. On any given day, I wouldn't have watched the brilliant film that is Good Will Hunting. I'm glad today wasn't any given day. 10/10