The screenwriting's on the wall...

Rating: Null/10 (19 May 2001)

Matt Damon and Ben Affleck give very good performances in this film but the thing that baffles me and I can never seem to understand is why they won an Oscar for this screenplay. Not that the screenplay wasn't good, it was. But why did THEY win? As far as I gather all Damon and Affleck wrote was the first draft of the screenplay. But their version was some sort of horrible action film about a math genius on the lam from a crooked government trying to exploit his talents, involving high-speed car chases and buildings exploding etc. It wasn't until William Goldman, an experienced screenwriter was hired, that the film became this "inner-growth and maturity" story that eventually got released. Goldman wrote the bulk of the screenplay alone and didn't even get credit as a script-consultant. As far as the credits of the film are concerned, he wasn't even there. Of course Damon and Affleck came up with the main-character and some of the stuff in the script themselves, but they did not write the script that was actually filmed. And it really makes sense. How could two such inexperienced writers produce a first screenplay of such quality and go from rags to riches literally overnight? Sounds exciting doesn't it? Just the kind of story Hollywood likes to tell. Matt Damon and Ben Affleck give even better performances in real life than in the film itself. For those who are in doubt, check out their writing filmography and see how many films they have written since GWH.