"Good Will Hunting" was nominated for nine Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director (Gus Van Sant), Best Actor (Matt Damon), Best Supporting Actor (Robin Williams), Best Supporting Actress (Minnie Driver), and Best Screenplay (Damon and Ben Affleck). Williams won his first Oscar, as did Damon and Affleck for their script.
That "Good Will Hunting" was a box office hit isn't surprising, given the casting and the feel good ending. But considering the film's weaknesses in character development and story, it comes as more of a disappointment that it would receive such massive critical acclaim. When Williams describes a favorite picture as paint-by-numbers, he should have been referring to the film, which evolves from its dubious premise without any surprises, or particular interest, along the way.
Will Hunting (Damon) is twenty years old. He works as a janitor, hangs out with his brother Chuckie (Affleck) and gets into scrapes with the law. Despite his age, occupation, interests, and anti-social behavior, he has also managed to memorize hundreds of scholarly tomes, possessing the educational equivalent of twenty different college degrees. You see, he's a genius, a hundred times smarter than anyone else, and just needs some guidance from a sympathetic, world-weary shrink (Williams) to stop being such a jerk and do something useful with his life.
The story begins with Hunting solving an extremely difficult math problem left on a blackboard by MIT Professor Lambeau (Stellan Skarsgard). Lambeau naturally wants to know who the genius is, and manages to track Hunting down. Turns out he is in jail, as he has been charged with violent assault. Hunting is freed by Lambeau, under the conditions that they work together and that Hunting receives counseling. This brings Williams into the story. As expected, there are confrontations (is choking your patient part of standard therapy?) between Williams and Damon. Also as expected, they end up as warm friends. To make Williams' character all the better, Lambeau becomes more and more of a jerk as the film slogs along.
Meanwhile, Damon begins dating Skylar (Driver), who is using an inheritance to fund her meandering education. As expected, there are many overly clever one-liners (which also abound in the dialogue between Hunting and his brothers). Also as expected, there are conflicts, but a happy ending.
Damon gets another character turn, as must decide whether to get a job using his skills as a genius (his recent jailing for assault is apparently no obstacle) or to continue as a construction worker (beats being a janitor). Since the former choice makes Hunting a sellout, and the latter choice makes him a loser, the film cops out without a clear decision having been made.
Chuckie has a good speech about how Hunting is 'sitting on a winning lottery ticket' but won't cash it in. Dialogue elsewhere is far from worthy of an Academy Award. Some may think it impressive that young Damon and Affleck can write a competent if formulaic screenplay, but "Citizen Kane" had a far better one, and Orson Welles was just as young. For a superior film involving a middle-aged psychiatrist and a troubled young man, I recommend "Ordinary People" instead. (50/100)
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