Good Will Hunting (1997)

The death of Robin Williams was unexpected and shocked a lot of people. It still is hard to understand why someone who gave so much laughter left life the way he did. Like many other movielovers did, I too decided to check out some of his work. I watched Dead Poets Society for the first time and I also felt it was a good moment to rewatch this movie. It’s been a very long time since I last saw it and except for a general summary of the movie I forgot the rest. I was interested to find out if I would still like it as there are some movies you liked when you were younger and on as rewatch don’t hold up. It wondered how it would turn out for this.

Childhood friends Matt Damon and Ben Affleck don’t only act in this movie, they were also responsible for writing the script. The movie is set in the city they grew up in: Boston. Will Hunting (Matt Damon) is a janitor at a university who loves going out with his friends and drink. It sometimes results in them fighting, which sometimes will result in them having to talk to the police. Will loves reading and through the years has gained a lot of knowledge.

When he manages to solve an extremely difficult mathematical problem while doing his janitor work everyone is wondering who is responsible. A professor (played by Stellan Skarsgård) eventually finds out, but Will is about to go to prison for a fight he was in. He offers him a way out: He will be responsible for him, but Will has to agree to go into therapy as he doesn’t show any respect towards authority. It turns out he is extremely to work with and many psychiatrists give up. Eventually he ends up at Dr. Sean Maguire (Robin Williams). The two of them are off to a difficult start, but Maguire will not allow him to be swept aside by Will.

Besides the very well written story the acting is extremely good as well, especially Matt Damon and Robin Williams. The scenes with the two of them together are mesmerizing as they both show so much emotion which you can’t help but feel yourself. It earned Williams and Oscar for best supporting role and Damon got nominated but didn’t win. He did however receive an Oscar for “Best Writing (Original Screenplay)” together with Affleck. It therefore doesn’t come as a surprise that the movie has had a high position in the IMDB top 250 for years. Can’t do anything but agree and recommend the movie if you have not seen it yet.