Deserves much more credit than it gets

Rating: 8/10 (20 June 2005)

I avoided seeing "Good Will Hunting" for years due to its reputation as a "bad pic disguised as an Indie flick". Then, one night, I decided to try it. How bad could it be? If it was awful, I figured, at least with Affleck it oughta be funny (in an unintentional way).
But guess what? It wasn't funny. It wasn't bad. In fact, it was pretty near great.
The story has been done before, albeit in slightly different form, so don't look for anything too special here. Young Will Hunting (Matt Damon) is, secretly, a mathematical genius, who puts out a rebellious attitude to disguise this. While working as a janitor, his talent is discovered by a college professor (Stellan Skarsgard), and from there Will's life is changed forever. He meets his dream girl (Minnie Driver) and undergoes psychological therapy in an attempt to fix up his attitude. The only shrink who has any chance with Will, however, is another college professor: Sean Maguire, played by Robin Williams. Along with his best friend Chuckie (Ben Affleck), Will embarks on a journey that will change his life forever.
Damon and Affleck, at the time relatively new to film-making, grabbed an Academy Award for "Best Original Screenplay" for writing the tale of "Good Will Hunting". Williams also received an Academy Award for "Best Supporting Actor", and the film was nominated for seven other awards including "Best Picture". The cast is terrific here - even Affleck isn't horrible - but it's Damon and Williams whose performances really reach out and grab you.
Someone who should have won an Oscar was director Gus Van Sant. His unique directing style gets moving performances from the entire cast and really brings to life Damon and Affleck's otherwise ordinary script. There's also a not-so-remarkable score by Danny Elfman.
I find this film to be severely underrated. If you give it a small chance, it will really have an effect on you. "Good Will Hunting" is one of the best films of the year, a shlock flick turned into a touching wonder. This movie really deserves much more credit than it gets.