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Aug 09, 2015DaisyCosh rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
"Good Will Hunting" follows the story of the titular character Will Hunting (played by Matt Damon) who works as a janitor at a prestigious college. One evening after Will believes everyone has gone home, he solves an allegedly unsolvable mathematical equation on the chalkboard outside a lecture hall, catching the attention of Professor Gerald Lambeau (played by Stellan Skarsgard). Will remains undetected and his genius is kept secret until he gets into a fist fight in a park in the projects and finds himself detained with bail set at $50,000. Knowing Will can't afford it, Professor Lambeau steps in and offers him the money on two conditions: first, that Will meets with Lambeau to discuss math, and second, that Will attends therapy sessions twice a week. Will agrees to these conditions -- after all, he has little choice -- and meets with several therapists under Lambeau's supervision. However, no therapist will agree to treat Will, considering his behaviour and how he mocks their profession. Lambeau decides to visit an old friend of his, a community college professor named Sean Maguire (played by the late great Robin Williams). Sean is nothing like Lambeau; he doesn't value fame and status. He values people and human emotion. In Sean, Will meets his match, and together their sessions force them to drop their walls and shed light on the sort of people they really are. "Good Will Hunting" is filled with many other three-dimensional characters performed by big-name stars, such as Ben and Casey Affleck playing Will's working-class comrades and Minnie Driver playing Skylar, an orphaned college student who uses her inheritance to pay her way through school. Skylar charms her way into Will's life, but does stand-offish Will care enough about her to keep her in it? Weaving together the many complex threads that compose the vulnerable Will Hunting, the film ultimately is about motivation and success and how we define it. I won't spoil the story, but it is a beautiful one worthy of watching. The script is studded with strong monologues that prove the capacity to speak in a way that moves you, sometimes to laugh, sometimes to cry, and its strength in the writing department makes the film a crowning achievement. The Academy got it right when they gave Matt Damon and Ben Affleck Oscars for their screenplay; in my opinion, nothing holds a candle to it. I highly recommend "Good Will Hunting."