Definitely Worth Watching

Rating: 10/10 (18 March 2018)

Good Will Hunting (1997) stars Matt Damon as Will Hunting, Ben Affleck as Chuckie, Robin Williams as Sean, Minnie Driver as Skylar, and Stellan Skarsgard as Professor Lambeau. The film was directed by Gus Van Sant.
The story is about Will Hunting, a twenty-year-old genius raised in abusive foster homes. He is working as a janitor at the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) through the Parole Employee Program. His intelligence could provide him a lucrative career, but he is most comfortable living in his run-down South Boston neighborhood spending his free time with his three loud, abrasive best friends.
He has landed in court several times for assault and theft, each time representing himself and getting the cases dismissed. Watching Will destroy his life, a theme begins to emerge - if you allow your fears to control your life, you're not really living. Will's fear of where his intelligence can take him combined with his fears of getting close to people are controlling his life.
Will is in court again, this time for beating up a bully from his childhood he ran into on the street. The judge will not dismiss the case and Will is facing jail time. At the same time, Will caught the attention of Professor Lambeau, a Professor of Math at MIT, by solving an extremely difficult math problem he left on a chalkboard in the hallway of the school.
Professor Lambeau convinced the judge to release Will under the conditions that Will meets with Professor Lambeau and a therapist weekly until his 21st birthday. It is at this point that Will meets Sean, the only therapist Will is unable to drive away. Will begins a relationship with Skylar, a girl he meets in a Harvard bar, who he both pulls in and pushes away, fearing she won't want to be with him if she knows the real him. The relationship ends when she moves to California to attend Stanford University. She wanted Will to go with her, but his insecurities caused him to break up with her instead.
Over the course of the film the viewer sees Will begin to change, forcing him to face his fears and anger created by his childhood. His breakthrough comes during one emotional and poignant meeting with Sean. By the end of the film, the theme appears again in both Will and Sean. Both characters ultimately choose the chance for happiness over the safety of their fears.
Good Will Hunting is reminiscent of A Beautiful Mind in the sense that they are both damaged men with genius IQs, but the desire to overcome their limitations comes from the heart.
Director Van Sant makes use of the aerial shot, especially in Will's run-down neighborhood. The viewer gets a real feel of the closeness of the buildings and the bustle and noise of the streets. Van Sant walks the viewer through the growing relationship between Will and Sean by keeping them separate on screen for most of their appointments. It is only after Will has his breakthrough with Sean that they are in the shot together for an extended emotional and heartfelt scene.
Van Sant's use of sound, both onscreen and off, helps the viewer stay in touch with the mood of the scene, whether it's the busy streets of South Boston, or the quiet halls of MIT.
I give this film ten stars, from the original screenplay to the final product. If you have a couple of hours and want to watch a film that will stay with you long after the final credits, then I recommend Good Will Hunting.