Gave me goosebumps.

Rating: 10/10 (14 March 2017)

I saw it when I was 1,4 saw it again yesterday (I'm 22 now) and boy....had I missed out on so much when I was 14. Many people remember this movie for the "bar scene" where Will Hunting knocks out the Harvard snob with his intelligence or the "chalk board scene" where Will answers the extremely difficult mathematical questions but in essence, the "genius" thing is really just a cream on top. What the movie really delved into and really focused on, was the essence of "life". To ME, it truly described what "life" was and how it really approaches people so differently yet moves them all the same.
I think the most brilliant thing about this movie was that the characters were all developed so well. We know the characters, we know them so much that we can write a whole skit with their personalities. The character development of each and every character was so vivid yet their depiction wasn't forced or effortful. The depiction was so subtle, yet so strong that they could say a few words but they would tell you a thousand. Every single line of the movie was gold. I don't even know where to start. So many memorable and meaningful quotes yet none of them were cheesy. I think that Stellan Skarsgård's character was underrated honestly. The way he looked at Will's work reminded me of the scene from Amadeus where Salieri takes one look at Mozart's work (work that only few can discern its pure magnificence) and just gazes at awe at the same time reeking with jealousy. Yet the professor doesn't look at Will with jealousy but almost protects him like his own child, all the while determined to let this genius be known. He reminds me of something a parent would do when they realise their child is a prodigy. They wouldn't try to understand or let him/her be free but would try to do exactly what the professor did. Only a third person like Sean would be able to pry deep into the child's mind to allow the child be free. Also I think the main reason Will stuck with Sean (brilliantly played by Robin Williams) on the whole counseling thing was because Will saw a bit of himself in Sean and Sean obviously saw a bit of himself in Will. Anyways the script was magnificent the character development was just so beautiful and the movie was just so effortless yet so sublime.
Some people argue that the movie was "predictable" and that it was "unrealistic" which I think was a real hit in the head for me. "Predictable"? I mean were you here to watch some sci-fi movie or did you think this would have a "twist-ending" and suddenly Will would be abducted by some aliens because usually movies like this that deal with "life-situations" are PREDICABLE obviously. Also, honestly, I don't see how this was so predictable in that Will might have become a really famous and successful person in the ending other than going to find his lover which would have made the movie really cheesy. Also given that this movie is predictable yet keeps the audience stuck to their chairs eyes glued to the screen proves that it's all that good. "unrealistic" hmmmm.......honestly, I have seen veryyyyyy unrealistic child prodigies in real life and Matt Damon's character is not really that unrealistic. I mean on the movie industries unrealistic scale, this movie would scale a 0 out of 10, because it's that realistic.
Overall, best movie ever. It kept me thinking and it grew onto me and made me really give Life a hard look in the eye.