The Title Really Sums it Up (In a Dreadful Way)

Rating: 6/10 (11 July 2009)

I'm one of the few people not crazy about this movie. I always have this problem with older, iconic movies. It feels like I've seen this type of thing better before, but I'm never sure if that is because this movie started it. In the case of Good Will Hunting, it's kind of old, but not old enough to create the old clichés.
This is the story of a young, genius janitor, Will Hunting (Matt Damon), who has issues. Growing up in south Boston is hard and all that, and Will was given a gift he didn't ask for, and a life that he's unnecessarily proud of. His little reality is shaken when he meets a psychologist (Robin Williams) who matches his life, and a woman (Minnie Driver) who matches his wit. And you get the dreadfully punny title, Good Will Hunting.
Maybe it's the pun that gets me off to a horrible start. The screenplay doesn't make me feel much better. It is filled with clichés. It seemed like every little life lesson was spelled out for you, as if you couldn't be trusted to distill it from the movie yourself. Every little thing Robin Williams says feels like a ridiculous monologue by an amateur. Which really is what this is. Matt Damon and Ben Affleck wrote the screenplay, their first. I really have no idea why it won best screenplay at the Oscars.
The acting is very good, however. Ben Affleck isn't always convincing, but he's got that whole look and atmosphere of a hometown boy. Minnie Driver is spectacular. She really captures the emotional turmoil her character is put through. Gus Van Sant directed this film, and despite the simplistic dialogue that is put forward as the most important part of the movie, he rescues it. The silent parts are often the best, like when the boys ride back from Harvard, and soft Elliot Smith music plays. That was the first transcendental moment, and a few more follow, elevating the movie to a place it really wouldn't be otherwise. Although I had problems with the Elliot Smith-dominated sound track. Every time something was supposed to be touching, they played Elliot Smith. It was tiring and monotonous, and by the end, I could basically start singing the music before it came on.
It's not a bad movie, it's just rather corny, rather predictable, rather run-of-the-mill. I suppose that the story is a bit different, and showed people something they had not seen and considered. Matt Damon's character is a bit of an enigma, a genius who shies from his gifts, and the reason why he makes sense. It's a great character study. But his "salvation" from his self-designed fate, is commercial and forced, and makes too many decisions and judgments to be really great.