Good Will Hunting Review

Rating: 10/10 (5 November 2016)

Good Will Hunting is one of those films that make you stay in front of the screen until the credits rolls. The script, written by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, is simply incredible and earned the Best Original Screenplay in the Oscars of 1998. Right from the first scenes there is a break of paradigms which make us realize that Good Will Hunting is not some random film. Along the plot also has a series of social critiques and even the picture being of 1997, these critiques are still current. The director, Gus Van Sant, by choosing a movie style calmer, clean and without many camera movements made the right decision. Another positive aspect of the direction was in certain conversations, the decision to keep a closed camera in the face of some character and slowly opening the plan to show the rest of the scenery. This method was great, because it caught all the facial expressions of the character and even when he was not talking, you could see how he reacted to the other talking, but none of this would be possible if it were not for the brilliant work of the actors.
Matt Damon is Will hunting, an individual with a great mathematical intellect. His performance is spectacular, even the character having a great degree of complexity. He isn't just some math genius, he also has doubts, fears, just like everyone else and Damon's performance manages to convey to the public each emotion that the character is being through. The character's development is also worth mention, because each choice that Will makes increases his importance and gives a greater weight to the story.
Robin Williams as Sean Maguire is also amazing; his performance won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1998. The talks between him and Will are one of the high points of the film. The actors have an incredible dynamic and provide exciting scenes. He and Damon excel in the dialogues, their monologues and arguments are breathtaking, especially the ones from Damon who sometimes gives big monologues fast, that makes me wonder if all that was in the script or some lines were improvised.
I must mention Ben Affleck (Chuckie Sullivan), Casey Affleck (Morgan O'Mally), Cole Hauser (Billy McBride) and Stellan Skarsgård (Gerald Lambeau). The first three are Will's friends, the scenes in which the four are together serve mostly as comic relief and surely, they work as such. However when the scene tends to a more dramatic and serious talk, they did not fail either. The three enable so that there is a better construction of the characters and the audience feels more comfortable and close to them. From the three, props to Ben Affleck's character, he's the closest to Will, he might be not smart as Will and shine in funny scenes, but when it's a serious talk, the scene in the demolished buildings for example is impressive, he shows his other side.