An understated genius works alongside an eccentric counselor to heal from his troubled past and learn the ropes to life, love, and acceptance in this feel-good film.

Rating: 9/10 (31 July 2014)

Good Will Hunting (1997) directed by Gus Van Sant tells the story of Will Hunting (Matt Damon), an MIT janitor who displays a genius level IQ by solving a mathematic equation that stumps even Professor Gerald Lambeau (Stellan Skarsgård). Because of Will's rough background in a rough part of Boston includes a childhood plagued with abuse and causes him to have near-constant trouble with the law. After his genius is understood, Lambeau negotiates a deal to keep Will out of prison, given that he will attend court ordered counseling. Enter Sean Maguire (Robin Williams), Lambeau's college roommate who is a psychology professor at a nearby community college. Through therapy sessions with Will, Sean and Will both begin to heal from the pain of their pasts, as well as discover a hope for the future. Sean helps Will to open up to the notion of love through the stories of his wife's hilarious and endearing "idiosyncrasies." In the opening scene, Will meets Skylar (Minnie Driver) who persists until the end to help Will see that he is worth loving and being loved.
The overall motif of Good Will Hunting is the idea of love and acceptance. Do we accept others enough to love them? Do we accept ourselves enough to allow others to love us? Do we accept our past in order to move on? Good Will Hunting is a classic coming of age tale that is excruciatingly relatable. The audience is enthralled with the poignant plot and the storyline is highlighted by the bare bones style of editing. Everything about this film feels very natural which is essential to the film feeling genuine rather than another Cinderella story cliché. The lighting and sound are especially utilized because of the variance in setting. Will frequents a Harvard bar, Sean's office, as well as his own room. The sounds in each are very different: the loud chatter and bass music of the bar, the comfortable silences shared in Sean's office, and the buzz of incandescent lighting in Will's bedroom are all showcased. The lighting is also genuine to the settings being dimmer in the bar, almost sterile in the MIT scenes, and appropriately flickering in other scenes. Throughout the film, the audience follows the relationship between Sean and Will, as they both learn to accept themselves, each other, and their pasts.