Good Will Hunting

“Good Will Hunting”, is a1997 Hollywood hit that starred its writers Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. It is all centered around a severely troubled boy genius named Will Hunting, played by Matt Damon, who had a terrible life growing up. As an abused orphan, all he knew was violence, pain and suffering and he probably thought that he was doomed to live his entire life with only these things. His friend Chuckie, played by Ben Affleck, was the brother that he never had and always had his back. Will’s life gets all turned around when his talents are discovered by a professor at the university where he was a janitor. The professor introduces him to a psychiatrist, played by Robin Williams, that changes Will’s whole perspective on life and ultimately becomes his best friend.

What makes this a good story is that right away in the movie, it grabs a hold of your interest and it does really good job with handling emotional material with restrain. The characters are so unique and conflicted that you always want to know more. It just draws you into the story and some people can probably relate to most of the characters and their conflicts. You could relate your tough childhood to the problems that Will faces, but there is more then just the main character. You could relate to Chuckie, a good guy who hates to see his friend waste his life away or Sean Maguire, a man that learns a lot himself while helping this troubled kid.

This movie is one that we all wish was true. It is probably not going to be something that everybody is going to witness, but we still wish that maybe someday it will come true in our lives. We might not be the boy genius, but we could be the person that helps someone else exploit their talents instead of throwing them away. Everyday we could be that person that sits down and talks to our friends in trouble or a random stranger having a bad day. People need others to believe in them, before they realize they have something special. The title tells it all. This kid is smart, but he is not good until Sean and Professor Gerald believe in him. Then he became the smart and good guy that he wasn’t ever taught to be.

From a personal aspect, I absolutely loved the story and plot of this movie, but I just did not like the movie itself. Sure it had its funny parts and sad parts, but I just could not get past some things. For example, I was not particularly impressed with the way they chose to portray everyone in it. Everyone in the movie was foul mouthed jerk to the other. Sure it magnifies the conflicts and tensions of the movie, but is it necessary. The f-word was probably the most popular word in the movie. Others might like that, but I am not that kind of person.

Since the library would not let me see the articles about the movie, I am going to close on Jack Garner’s comment about the movie. He said “Young Will Hunting is very, very bright; a genius actually. But he’s also bursting with confusion and rage, triggered by an abusive childhood and an adolescence of low expectations. Will can reason like mad, but he’s usually too mad to reason.” This quote is not only the life story for Will, but to so many others. These people have such great talents, but no guidance in their life to help them us it. This is something that everyone can help another with. Instead of cutting people down all the time, say or do something supportive to help others rather then hinder them. Be the light house to their lost boats, like Sean was to Will.