Arrogant genius learns facts about life

Rating: Null/10 (28 January 2018)

The story of this movie begins with Matt Damon still in Harvard. He wrote the initial script for this movie as a class assignment. Later on he would recruit Ben Affleck to finish the script with him. And thus one of the most well-known films ever made was born.
And for such a humble beginning, the movie is much better than it has any right to be.
The story tells about Will Hunting (Damon), who's a mathematical savant and an all-around genius. Unfortunately he comes from the wrong side of the tracks in Boston and has thus ended up working as a janitor in MIT's math department. Until one day he's caught scribbling on the hallway blackboard. Scribbling such math that even the professors have a hard time keeping up.
The film isn't very heavy plot-wise. Rather it's the characters, these huge personalities played by talented actors, that make the film such a memorable classic. In Hunting you can definitely see clear signs that he was written by a schoolboy, but his problems are treated in a mature way and given enough depth that you care. The movie has some good thoughts about being gifted and the meaning your starting point in life has on your choices.
Plus the film has Robin Williams in it. This is not in fact one of his better roles, at least in my opinion, but the man was such a talent that even three fourths of his maximum effort was more than most could conjure up combined.
This film is best seen as a teenager. As an adult you can be a bit annoyed by Hunting's clear Gary Stu tendencies and the wish fulfillment talents, but even then it is more than a watchable experience and a neat piece of film making.