Good Will HuntingTrust requires vulnerability. Good Will Hunting is about a gifted genius with an eidetic memory named Will Hunting (Matt Damon), who hides his brilliance and mathematical aptitude behind a veneer of cynicism and defensiveness. Will's life consists of hanging out with his buddies and drinking at night while he scrubs floors as a janitor at MIT during the days. After an assault case brings him within inches of hard time, the sarcastic Southie is "saved" by Fields Medal recipient, Professor Gerald Lambeau (Stellan Skarsgård), who sees his potential being squandered. Will couldn't care less about academic prestige, and harbors inner demons that only psychologist and teacher, Sean Maguire (Robin Williams), is equipped to exorcise. To do so, Sean must break down the barriers that Will has built up--walls he has erected to keep all the fear outside.
|
|
The success story of Good Will Hunting is similar to that of its main character. Good Will Hunting was written by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck--who co-stars as Will's buddy, Chuckie Sullivan--and seemed doomed to remain in development limbo. The story goes that it was none other than co-producer Kevin Smith--a colleague of Matt and Ben's--who "personally walked the script into the offices of Miramax" to get the film financed. (In a nod to this gesture, both Matt Damon and Ben Affleck reprises their roles in Kevin Smith's comedy, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.) Good Will Hunting went on to win the Academy Award for best screenplay and Best Supporting Actor for Robin Williams. The film is a touching and complex psychological depiction of a young man who is forced to come to terms with both his preternatural genius and the psychological trauma of being a victim of childhood abuse. When we first meet Will Hunting, he is reading a book at alarming speed; he has a photographic memory and is able to recall all of the information he has absorbed in his desire to learn while applying it in lateral ways. This potent combination gives him an alarming aptitude for solving mathematical quandaries which baffle even minds like Lambeau's. Will is thus able to upstage an arrogant blowhard at a Harvard bar, who tries to make a fool out of Chuckie, and in turn wins the affections of a young woman named Skylar (Minnie Driver). Will is an orphan whose foster father beat him; Will learned that revealing his emotions made him vulnerable, and invited more abuse. Will's upbringing has made him into the defensive, sarcastic young man who instigates a fight with a local because he used to pick on him in kindergarten. Will's extensive knowledge of the law has helped him skirt jail before, but his assault of a cop makes the threat of corrective action real. Lambeau is less interested in Will's welfare than he would like to admit, but he is so envious of the young man's capability to solve complex theorems with ease, that he considers it his duty to mold him into a latter day Einstein--Lambeau often equates the gifted young janitor with famous mathematical geniuses. Part of the court arrangement that releases Will into Lambeau's care comes with the contingency that Will get counseling for his anger. After a series of confrontations between Will and several arrogant counselors, it is Lambeau's old roommate, Sean--a professor at Bunker Hill Community College--who Lambeau calls on as a "favor". What makes Sean a perfect counselor for Will is that they actually talk and learn about one another through genuine social interaction, which is at the heart of Good Will Hunting. Sean doesn't just roll over when Will starts prodding, and he doesn't spew platitudes and advice without context. Sean understands what few counselors really do: trust is a give and take relationship. When we first meet Sean, he is lecturing his half-attentive class about why trust is crucial to a relationship with a client; this is because without trust, clients won't be honest, and (as Will chides) no "healing can begin".
Will Hunting is a complex character, not just because he is a "tortured soul" or an "insufferable genius". Will claims he just wants to live a "normal life", but this is a lie he tells himself. Will runs from success, because it comes with the risk of failure. He criticizes and berates Sean when he hints that Will is avoiding intimacy; but it becomes clear that Will is afraid of being intimate. This doesn't mean that he is afraid of sexual contact with Skylar, but when she invites him to come to California with her for medical school, he uses any excuse--even telling her he doesn't love her--to avoid making himself vulnerable. Will has also become complacent with being a secret genius, and the thought of him navigating uncharted territory (and feeling stupid) terrifies him so much, that it is easier to lie about his feelings than acknowledge them. Psychology observes that self-delusion (like Will's) is at the root of all psychological maladies. As smart as Will is, he is ignorant that everyone around him sees him for who he really is; Chuckie calls Will out on his excuses, almost as much as Lambeau and Sean. The most emotional and heartfelt moments in Good Will Hunting come during the sessions between Sean and Will. Will is taciturn, even antagonistic at first, pushing Sean away by making disparaging comments about his late wife, trying to provoke him to anger. Sean is more of a fighter than his twill cardigan and bushy beard suggests; he doesn't make it a personal mission to "save" Will, but to help him find the door to his own happiness and walk through it. After their first session, Sean and Will sit together by the pond, and Sean makes it clear that while Will may be book-smart, he is scared to live his life. Sean sees this as the real root of Will's unhappiness, manifested in his aggression and frustration with authority--so Sean helps Will by sharing his real-world experiences to teach him about what he is missing out on by letting his fear call the shots. The two bond as friends; they say "time's up" during their sessions to acknowledge their respective boundaries, and strip away the artifice of a doctor/patient relationship with their candor and humor. Good Will Hunting seems to set the stage for a class divide between men like Lambeau--the elitist intelligentsia who flaunt their academic prowess like a birthright--and men like Will and Chuckie, blue collar guys who down brews at the local tavern and knock down walls with sledgehammers for a pitiful wage. But all of this framework aside--the real life is lived not in one's class but in one's experience. Will finds truth in Sean's stories--like how he met his wife--and learns what true happiness is; he isn't lectured on it, but learns to desire that warmth in the depths of his soul, and seeks it out of his own free will. Will finally understands that people who feel like outsiders are just people who haven't opened the door to come inside.
Recommended for: Fans of a heartfelt character study of a disenfranchised genius and his bond with an unlikely mentor who helps him to find the real medicine for his soul. Good Will Hunting challenges the audience to consider how behind every person, a secret genius might be waiting, no matter their station in life; they just might not have had the right encouragement--intellectual or emotional--to make that difficult step into greatness.
Will Hunting is a complex character, not just because he is a "tortured soul" or an "insufferable genius". Will claims he just wants to live a "normal life", but this is a lie he tells himself. Will runs from success, because it comes with the risk of failure. He criticizes and berates Sean when he hints that Will is avoiding intimacy; but it becomes clear that Will is afraid of being intimate. This doesn't mean that he is afraid of sexual contact with Skylar, but when she invites him to come to California with her for medical school, he uses any excuse--even telling her he doesn't love her--to avoid making himself vulnerable. Will has also become complacent with being a secret genius, and the thought of him navigating uncharted territory (and feeling stupid) terrifies him so much, that it is easier to lie about his feelings than acknowledge them. Psychology observes that self-delusion (like Will's) is at the root of all psychological maladies. As smart as Will is, he is ignorant that everyone around him sees him for who he really is; Chuckie calls Will out on his excuses, almost as much as Lambeau and Sean. The most emotional and heartfelt moments in Good Will Hunting come during the sessions between Sean and Will. Will is taciturn, even antagonistic at first, pushing Sean away by making disparaging comments about his late wife, trying to provoke him to anger. Sean is more of a fighter than his twill cardigan and bushy beard suggests; he doesn't make it a personal mission to "save" Will, but to help him find the door to his own happiness and walk through it. After their first session, Sean and Will sit together by the pond, and Sean makes it clear that while Will may be book-smart, he is scared to live his life. Sean sees this as the real root of Will's unhappiness, manifested in his aggression and frustration with authority--so Sean helps Will by sharing his real-world experiences to teach him about what he is missing out on by letting his fear call the shots. The two bond as friends; they say "time's up" during their sessions to acknowledge their respective boundaries, and strip away the artifice of a doctor/patient relationship with their candor and humor. Good Will Hunting seems to set the stage for a class divide between men like Lambeau--the elitist intelligentsia who flaunt their academic prowess like a birthright--and men like Will and Chuckie, blue collar guys who down brews at the local tavern and knock down walls with sledgehammers for a pitiful wage. But all of this framework aside--the real life is lived not in one's class but in one's experience. Will finds truth in Sean's stories--like how he met his wife--and learns what true happiness is; he isn't lectured on it, but learns to desire that warmth in the depths of his soul, and seeks it out of his own free will. Will finally understands that people who feel like outsiders are just people who haven't opened the door to come inside.
Recommended for: Fans of a heartfelt character study of a disenfranchised genius and his bond with an unlikely mentor who helps him to find the real medicine for his soul. Good Will Hunting challenges the audience to consider how behind every person, a secret genius might be waiting, no matter their station in life; they just might not have had the right encouragement--intellectual or emotional--to make that difficult step into greatness.