"I had to go see about a girl"

Rating: 9/10 (29 October 2008)

This is one of those films that you cant help walking away from without being touched in some way. All of the central themes to adult life are explored and exposed by a very good cast. Friendship, love, pain, the past holding back who we could be in the present, acceptance (or not) of our place in society.
"Good Will Hunting" is the story of Will Hunting played by Matt Damon. He is a young man who is a mathematical genius but has no formal education and who is so traumatised by his past that he will not allow himself to be the man he could with his talents. Will works as a Janitor, but chose the Massachusetts institute of technology (the finest mathematical institution in America as we are told) as the place to work in order to be close to an outlet for his brilliance. Early on in the story, the resident Maths guru Professor Gerry Lambeau sets a problem for his students to solve which should take the whole semester for the average mind. When this problem is solved and written on the faculty blackboard the very next morning, he sets another that took him personally two years to solve. The following day he is conversing with a colleague when he witnesses Will writing down the perfect solution on the blackboard again. The Professor realises he has a genius hiding in his midst.
When Will is later involved in a fight, he is eventually given the choice between a short prison term or working with the Professor on a daily basis and also attending psychiatric therapy sessions. Will chooses the latter but uses the therapy sessions as a chance to mock the Psychiatrists assigned to him and show off his knowledge. When no one else will work with him, Professor Lambeau turns to his old room mate at college, Sean MacGuire (played by Robin Williams on Oscar winning form.) who manages to reach the boy emotionally and start to repair the damage that has been done to him.
It is widely known that Matt Damon and Ben Affleck co wrote the screen play as a reaction to their slow progress in establishing Hollywood careers. It is a testament to their talent as writers that they came up with so many touching scenes and passages of dialogue. In particular, Williams monologue to Damon when sat on the park bench is sublime. Wills relationship with "Skylar" (played by Minnie Driver) is perfectly believable and as the story unfolds the viewer can see the change in Wills character from the cocky kid, pushing everyone away, to the young man who understands who he could be with the right encouragement.
There are very few flaws to be found in this film, largely because the story is so well told and Robin Williams performance is worth the entry price alone. It is a genuinely touching experience which relates to so many people and is easy to empathise with in real life. The characters are richly written and they are all interdependent in the telling of the proceedings. You really care what happens to these people.
I could "nick pick" and draw attention to the psychiatrist scenes in Robert Redfords "Ordinary People" (1980) which bear close resemblance to the ones in "Good Will Hunting" but I think Damon and Affleck just took the bar up another notch with their interpretation of the Doctor / Patient working relationship.
All in all an uplifting and worthwhile movie going experience which will stay with you long after you leave the cinema.