Astounding, it is the realism that moves us

Rating: Null/10 (2 October 1999)

Good Will Hunting was one of the most moving movies I've ever seen, dealing with themes of hope, potential and abuse it gave such a real-life portrait that almost everything in the film was something you could easily relate to and felt very familiar. The choice of locations and backdrops were very appropriately atmospheric, as the film was shot in pubs, bars and coffee bars. The film was original and worked on a deeper level throughout, it was able to drop all the usual clichéd characters and scenarios that populate so many of the mass bulk of formulaic films that account for the vast majority of Hollywood's output. This never strayed far from scenarios real ,and a storyline that could be related to, I first believed and then upon realisation wanted to believe that it was a true story, because the degree of observational accuracy on real-life and the familiar feel of real-life that is believable and credible ,the film had been quite remarkable. It is ironic that many people are not convinced that Matt Damon's character could be a genius and yet could have come from such circumstances of abuse and now be living such a 9-5 philistine lifestyle of laying bricks and nights on the town, as the film manages to persuade us that it is more than just the usual triumph over adversity case. It is a film about abuse ,and in it we are shown that the loss in normal family values and the resulting towing of society's line that that would probably normally cause ,brings up strongly other aspects of a person's character, and this might explain the heightened creativity or ability as depicted by Will Hunting. The story is very psychologically real and is refreshingly not so simplistic as most other popular films. It is so re-assuring to know that the films of this type can be made and can be profitable and that it doesn't always have to be the lowest common denominator that we so feared having a monopoly on the majority of films. He is a maths genius but he doesn't know it, he naively just gets on with it, just like Mozart with the box of wood known as a piano. But when he is discovered by a maths professor ,he must be brought out of himself, and his cocky, confident front that hides a deeply insecure individual whose fundamentals have been rocked by abuse. After being exposed to and brushing off a number of conservative and conformist psychologists he is brought under the wing of a very philosophical psychologist who he has some common ground with. Some of their procrastinations and profundities are alone worth the two hours. For a deeper, more philosophical film that will make you truly think and feel in this realistic view of human nature, there is Good Will Hunting.