Good Will Hunting: Review By Daveactor7

Just one of the lines from the brilliant screenplay conceived by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. Yes, Affleck and Damon wrote an oscar winning script. Before you even judge them in their career as actors, particularly Affleck, look at them as writers in this film. Writers who know the reality of life, the difficulties, the love, everything they muster up and place into over a hundred pages. Let me tell you something, what is said on these pages are absolutely brilliant.

Director Gus Van Sant knew that upon seeing their script, he had himself a masterpiece. A story about a intelligent, but troubled young man who meets a therapist who connects with him deeply and brings forth a man yearning to find his path in life and disconnect with his haunting past. How in the world did he not win best director for this? This film has much more potential then the film about the ill fated Titanic and it definitely has stronger backgrounds for each character.

Matt Damon plays that young man named Will Hunting and he gives a marvelous performance. Here we see him working through various jobs, moving through life, hanging out with his usual best buds. The jobs he gets are that of lower class and not remotely fun to do, but he does it anyway. However, Will's intelligence is discovered by Professor Gerald Lambeau (a good Stellan Skarsgard). Lambeau is taken aback by Will's skill and he offers him basically a better life if he would go through therapy. Well of course Will accepts due to his imprisonment for beating up an officer.

Will's intelligence is confirmed in my favorite scene from the film when a college student challenges Will's friend Chuckie's (played by an eerily similar performance in the film "The town" by Ben Affleck) intelligence, due to a simple "trying to get attention" discussion with two ladies. Will attacks the student with what he had brought about in the first place. He destroys him and in this scene the dialogue was just spot on, never going too far, keeping the audience interested in not only that scene, but Will's character. I actually came to cheer him on as he pelted the know-it-all left and right.

Here we meet Skylar (great performance by Minnie Driver) one of the girls Chuckie was trying to woo, who will become a sort of anchor in which Will perceives as holding him back. She also tries to understand who he is and his past, but Will does not discuss this amongst her.

The one who steals the show here is Robin Williams and this is definitely one or the best performance in his career. No, he is not an over the top funny man in this film, he is actually portraying a character opposite of what his usual roles are. Here he plays the therapist named Sean Maguire and what I like most about his character is his background that associates strongly with his wife, who had passed away. What she left behind were the memories that he tells Will of through their many sessions. Out of all the rest of the people asked to help Will, he is the only one who can take on the job. The two characters relate, grow, and come to respect one another. Their first confrontation alone established that Sean was different from the others. He is not taking Will's bullsh*t, his disrespect on his wife. The scene that follows shows Sean at home, sitting at a table, having a glass of beer, a depressing look about his face. That first meeting with Will still in his mind.

In the meetings that follow, Will comes to terms with Sean and in doing so, he starts to understand more about life and he changes as well. In the end of the film just watching him leaving his best friends was saddening, but he had to leave. To find Skylar who has gone to California, to continue her studies. Love apparently on Will's mind.

Personally for me, I would call this the best picture of 1997. This film is ripe and strong in every proportion without overdoing it. Do not miss this.

This has been a review by daveactor7