every once in a while you see a film that is so effective in delivering the goods that it is easy to forget , and forgive , its glaring imperfections .
such is the case with ?
good will hunting ?
, a subtle character study about a socially inept mathematics genius who struggles to find his path in life .
despite some serious character problems , this is still a very good film .
you probably know about the plot
so i ?
ll make it quick .
will hunting ( damon ) is a janitor at m .
i .
t .
, he ?
s really smarter than einstein
but nobody knows it .
he likes to go out with his friend chuckie ( affleck ) and their other working - class buddies and drink beer .
he ?
s good - looking , charismatic , and witty but has a terrible time with authority and stiff college folk .
after getting into a tiff with the law , a distinguished professor ( skarsg ?
rd )
discovers will ? s genius and offers him a chance to clean up his record and avoid jail time , at a price : he must attend weekly sessions with a therapist and work on various mathematical problems ( that have stumped the academic elite ) with the professor .
after outsmarting and scaring the hell out of a couple of different psychologists he meets his match when hooked up with a once - promising therapist named sean maguire ( williams ) who has his own problems .
in the meantime will meets a british medical school student ( driver ) and they begin to fall in love .
the story starts out well enough and is a pretty original basis for a film .
even though we ?
ve seen movies about misunderstood , erratic prodigies before ( ? shine ?
ring a bell ? )
, the script here creates a complex narrative that doesn ?
t just focus solely on one character .
alas though , this is not a perfect film , as much as you feel like it could ?
ve been while watching it .
the one real problem i had with it is the unrealistic nature of the main character .
is it possible for a lowly janitor to be this intelligent ?
of course .
is it possible for him to be estranged from any deep , human relationships ?
usually , yes .
but , is it possible for him to also be so handsome , funny , quick with the tongue , and city - street tough ? not very likely .
come on , usually these guys are total nerds who can ?
t even buy their own shirts , much less talk down a harvard student in a hip pub while picking up phone numbers from pretty med .
-school
girls .
will is just a little too perfect , and in order to accept the character your disbelief suspension needs to be in excellent working condition .
the heavy - handed , anti - war statement made by will at a government job interview late in the film is also boorish , overlong , pompous , and completely unnecessary .
all this sounds pretty bad , but the film somehow makes up for it in other ways .
damon ?
s acting overshadows the fact that the character is slightly unbelievable ,
his performance is truly extraordinary . which leads me to the really good part of the review .
the strength of this movie can be summed up in one single word : acting .
i can ?
t recall seeing a film recently that was so well - acted from top to bottom . from minnie driver ?
s frustrated lover to ben affleck ?
s laid - back best friend , and all the small roles in between ,
the performances are magnificent .
robin williams ?
skill is a given as a bereaved psychologist who could ?
ve had a legendary career but was knocked off the path somewhere down the line .
the real gem though is stellan skarsg ?
rd ?
s turn as professor lambeau , an award - winning mathematician who feels reduced in comparison to a younger , smarter will hunting .
the scenes between williams and skarsg ?
rd , as two old college pals who ?
ve been brought back together by this enigmatic kid , display
some of the best acting i ?
ve ever seen .
when i say delivering the goods , this is what i ?
m talking about .
watching these two work is what going to see movies is all about .
gus van sant ?
s ( to die for ,
drugstore cowboy ) cold
, urban direction is right on , as well as danny elfman ?
s sauntering musical score .
i highly recommend ?
good will hunting ? .
despite its faults , it is still an intriguing and fascinating film and you are not likely to see a better acted one this year .
Output: P