Customer Reviews

Good Will Hunting: A Screenplay

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Having read all the reviews and endless adulation for this film, it's easy to see why the screenplay for Good Will Hunting snatched up an Oscar last year for Best Original Screenplay. Damon and Affleck have crafted an intelligent story that speaks volumes of humanity in the dialogue and character relationships. Characters are three-dimensional, flawed and compelling, forcing the audience to actually CARE what happens to them.

The major strength of the script is the finely-crafted monologues that Damon and Affleck give their characters: i.e. Shawn's speech to Will in Boston park is simply beautifal. Then there's Will's speech to the NSA agents which combines humour and observation in one neat little package.

The actor's performances stem from the sheer amount of subtext handed to them by Damon and Affleck in their script. Primarily, Will's path goes from frightened loud-mouth to assured and confident young man through his counseling sessions with Sean. These scenes are a joy to read as Will and Sean draw closer together by burying to the root of Will's struggle and for Sean to overcome past tragedies. Robin Williams at first seems like an odd choice for the role of Sean, but, for anyone who's seen DEAD POET'S SOCIETY will understand, approaches his role with vigour, inflecting Sean with wisdom, quiet solidarity and subtly conveys Sean's pain and anguish from a life of struggle.

Also, Affleck gets a great speech near the end of the story when Chuckie tells Will to accept his gift and to follow his heart and to stop denying himself in the eyes of others, because he has something that not many people have.

The script is also laced with some wonderful photographs from the film, which chart the progress of the story in pictures, and also includes a superb introduction from the film's director Gus Van Sant. The story is warm, deeply emotional and human, containing brilliant flashes of wit, pathos, observation and self-doubt, and I have no doubt that from this, Damon and Affleck will continue to rise and rise. Good Will Hunting reminds us that movies don't have to be about exploding asteroids, sinking ships or gratuitous car chases, they can be about the explorarion of the human condition, where the guay gets the girl and has all the answers.

It is not difficult to understand why this screenplay won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. There are only so many stories to be told; the difference is how those stories are told. In a land where movies about old television shows are considered original, Hollywood is desperate for anything that looks even remotely new. The tale that Damon & Affleck (with some help from Goldman) tell is not a new one. However, it is the way they tell it that makes this story so fascinating. The characters are fleshed out, not cardboard cut-outs. The words you read actually make you care about the characters, thinking of them as real people.

Ah, the words. That's what makes this script so original. If Will, Chuckie, Sean and the rest of the clan were not so eloquent, this would just be another run of the mill buddy/romance/coming-of-age flick that just happens to star Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, and Robin Williams. Most people remember at least one of the wonderfully written monologues from this film, such as Will's interview with NSA or Chuckie's speech to Will about using his gift. However, the normal every day-to-day speech between the characters is written just as poetically.

Words are powerful, something we seem to forget in our modern American society. If nothing else, this screenplay is worth looking at just to refresh one's memory of how moving words can be.

A great screenplay to companion a great movie.

You know, I've seen a lot of movies and read alot of screenplays and I've got to say; The more a movie costs, the more big action is it, the fewer words...and on and on until all thats left is an explosion or two and a sex scene. This story is different, it's exceptional. It was put together brilliantly and I must say, you're doing yourself a disservice by not reading this screenplay and viewing this movie. There's reason it won.

Good Will Hunting cultivates a blend of historic elements together with a present-day scenario. A screenplay which perhaps challenges you more than it entertains. Focused, precise and of the depth -Good Will Hunting is a world away from the garbage hollywood produces everyday.

I don't know! I have become a fan of Matt and Ben after seeing the movie, good will hunting.

Some people don't like the movie because they don't understand the movie and the intrisic (inside)meaning of the story, but think about yourself as a guy who are afraid of everything(esp. new people, because you are unsure about them and you are really afraid you will get hurt)but you want appreciation from other(there is why he writes equation on the blackboard of Harvard University), you may understand it better!

Lots of contradiction in the story made it more interesting. But don't forget the story background, South Bostan, is also the part of the story.

Matt and Ben made fame after the movie. It beat other experienced screenwriters to get the best screenpaly price. So, it is brilliant.

the screenplay also have something that the movie doesn't have.

If the movie break your heart, the book will also break your heart.

"A lot of Good Will was written on such cross-country road trips. We tell each other stories while in a particular character, usually to make each other laugh or to make sure that Ben doesn't fall asleep at the wheel," says Matt. And then Gus says, "Matt Damon and Ben Affleck are describing things in their screenplay that mean so much to them that it will break your heart when you read it." Ironical as these statements may seem, they bring out the essence of the book. Written in a style that's like a country rivulet, the dialogues, laced with expletives on the surface, are a lesson in human behavior. Each character has a character that is unique, that is human, that is devoid of any celluloid syntheticity. I'm dying to see the film.

This screenplay is unbelievable. The men who wrote this amaze me! There are only subtle differences that differ the movie from the book. Although I'd seen the movie before reading the screenplay, I still enjoyed reading it greatly. The emotional heartfelt words will bring you to tears many times. Will Hunting, the title character, progresses from a genious, slacker boy to a strong, independent man. As a thirteen year old, I can relate to the immaturaties of this character. I reccomend this screenplay to people of all ages.

Good Will Hunting is not only the best screenplay of the year, it is one of the best in the last ten years. Most movies these days are not worth the price of admission. So I see them when they come to a discount theatre. Even cheap night at the video stores yields nothing but a bunch of meaningless stories which do nothing more than shock your retina with fast paced images. I stare vacantly at the screen, unmoved, uninvolved. Damon and Afleck have written a brilliant story which does what most working screenwriters only wish they could do. I cared about the characters and I was concerned about the outcome. I was rooting for them, hoping that goodness and happiness would come their way.

It is entertaining throughout. And yes it made me shed tears. Twice! The scenes are peppered with short speeches that are so natural and realistic that you will be tempted to think that it must have been easy to write this stuff. No wisecracking James Bond here, folks. Meaningfull and realistic dialogue. The writers took a chance that there is an audience out there for a well crafted and moving story. This is a story. Did you get that? I said, "a STORY!". I'm not talking about a plot that unfolds like three acts all tied up into a neat little package, like butter on your popcorn. This isn't just devices and tricks. It is a story! You will remember the dialogue because you have heard it before. In real life. People actually talk this way regardless of the Bostonian accents. And where did they get this mathematical information. I don't know, it's either made up or well researched.

It doesn't get any better than this, folks. If you have a heart, it will be cracked when you listen to what these characters have to say to each other. Yeah, you will care. Check it out. You'll actually give a damn, Scarlett.

I bought this for a friend of mine who was a fan of the movie and working on being a screenwriter, himself. It seemed thoughtful and I think he liked it.

I enjoyed the final script with all of the stage directions, music overlay,etc. almost as much as I enjoyed the movie. I think Matt Damon and Ben Affleck should write another great screenplay for both of them.