Good Will Hunting Stands as a Model on How to do a Low-Budget Film Right

Rating: 10/10 (26 March 2018)

Good Will Hunting's plot follows troubled custodian Will Hunting (Matt Damon) as he tries to navigate relationships and life in 1997 Boston and Cambridge. Throughout the 126 minute film, Will's ego and psyche are challenged by the weathered Sean Maguire (Robin Williams) while finding something inside of himself he did not know he had with Skylar (Minnie Driver). This excellent and complex plot coupled with the outstanding music from the late Elliot Smith create an unforgettable atmosphere from start to finish.
The screenplay finds a precise balance between distress and happiness which gives the film a unique footprint for future scripts to follow. The script is penned by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, who also has a role in the film. During the writing stage of the production Gus Van Sant- the director of the film- visited Damon and Affleck frequently and later critiqued their writing method in the Introduction to the published screenplay: "Ben and Matt would fly into action and create something almost spontaneously with Matt standing in the middle of the hotel room demonstratively gesturing and editing ideas by drawing dotted lines in the air with his hands, with Ben writing down dialogue on his laptop computer." This spontaneous yet structured dialogue can be seen throughout the film, excellently mastered by the acting chops of Robin Williams and film royalty Stellan Skarsgård.
Robin Williams delivers a more controlled and stable character as opposed to his mostly zany and comical repertoire. His character arguably grows as much as the main protagonist throughout the film as he needs to open up in order to mentor Will Hunting. In the famous "pond scene" Williams delivers- in my opinion- one of the greatest film monologues of all time, creating a father-figure character in less than five minutes. However, Williams does not waste a chance to shine in comedy during a completely improvised scene about two thirds through the film.
Independent films today have grown to focus more on art than narrative, which lowers the quality of the film. When there is little-to-no narrative in your film, there is nothing for your audience to connect with. An example of this problem in more modern cinema is the film The Mountain Between Us. While the film captures awe-inspiring landscapes, the dialogue and narrative is so poor it is hard to feel any sort of connection with the characters whatsoever. For reasons and examples like these, this is why I believe that Good Will Hunting stands as a model on how to do a low-budget film right.