A wonderful, dialogue driven coming of age story

Rating: 10/10 (16 September 1998)

Personally, I found this movie to be a refreshing change from movies we see nowadays. Before seeing it I thought the basic premise was nothing new but Robin Williams might make it an interesting movie. I was delightedly surprised. Matt Damon pulled off a magnificent performance in a not-so-new character type. I found the plot to be a wonderful vehicle for the outstanding dialogue that made the movie so rewatchable for me. The screenplay absolutely deserved the Oscar. Robin Williams had easily one of the best performances of his career (at least as powerful as Dead Poet's Society if not more so). He poured a lot of emotion into a character just as complicated as Damon's. The connection between Williams' character and Damon's was powerful. Minnie Driver delivered a wonderful performance as Damon's love interest. Stellan Skaarsgard, though I don't recall another movie he has been, also played a complicated role as sort of a mental mentor to Damon. But my hat is off to Ben Affleck. This was the first movie I saw him in and his presence on screen was amazing. He is responsible for possibly my favorite scene in the movie, the scene where he tells Will Hunting that he doesn't "owe it to himself, you owe it to me." I believe he took the role as best friend to a new level. He also has a wonderful scene where he has to basically just stand there and let us know what is going on in his mind. I hope to see him around a lot in the future. This movie is wonderfully cast and brought me back again and again.