Most Helpful Customer Reviews
|
|
44 of 51 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good film crafting, May 7, 2000
There were few films in 1997 that enjoyed more publicity than Good Will Hunting. Most of the hype centered on the two tyro actors who penned the screenplay. It seems that they had been friends for years and in between college obligations, drinking and socialising, they had been toying with a script on the side. What started out as a rather average comedy, soon evolved into a sophisticated drama. In fact, it could hardly avoid getting better as Matt Damon and Ben Affleck must have received a ton of brutal criticism from every Hollywood executive that they approached.
The true miracle is not that two actors, unknown for writing, could get a script accepted in Hollywood but that the script was so good that it put every other effort for the year in the shade. In my opinion, the motion picture academy was correct in awarding the Oscar for best screenplay to Good Will Hunting. Everything about the script suggested writers with a profound understanding of the human condition; even now I half suspect there was an element of that old saying about an infinite number of monkeys on typewriters.
For those interested in this Cinderella story within a movie, you should listen to the director's track on the DVD. It offers a unique insight into the background of the writing and filming of Good Will Hunting. It becomes clear from Ben and Matt's reminiscences that they had a ball during every part of the process. Not only that, they took advantage of their opportunity, to offer support roles to friends and family; a situation that rarely occurs outside of independent film. Surprisingly, one of the best support performances was produced by Casey Affleck, who is Ben's cousin, (I think).
The script took a bit of a risk by making the main character a super-genius. Not only is it difficult to portray a person with such talents but it is nearly impossible to do so while making him likeable. After all, the tall poppy syndrome is strongest when it comes to intellect. We can all aspire to wealth and with plastic surgery, even beauty is not unattainable but the brains you are born with is the most you're ever going to have. However, Matt Damon proved me wrong on both counts.
Will Hunting was undeniably bright. The scene in the Harvard bar were he takes on an educational supremacist is worth watching again and again just for the superb timing that was employed. Will also manages to win our sympathy despite his I.Q. Not so much because he acts like "one of the boys" but because we discover early on that for every blessing he received in the brain department, he was given a matching curse in his life. An orphan who was raised by a series of abusing foster parents is unlikely to have much room left for pride.
The catalyst which helps Will break out of his life is Gerald Lambeau, (Stellan Skarsgård). He is an award winning mathematician and professor at MIT where Will works as a janitor. Their paths cross when Will off-handedly solves a difficult maths problem which Lambeau had set for his post graduate class. But whilst there relationship is important, it is little more than a subplot; a segue toward Will's eventual meeting with Sean Maguire, a psychiatrist played by Robin Williams.
Sean is invited by Lambeau to work with Will. The two are old friends but even so, Sean was only approached after four other therapists had been run off by Will's destructive insights and bitter insults. Sean is a bird of a different feather however. He shares a common background with Will, and if anything, he has had more pain in his life than Will may ever see. In a strange way, Sean becomes Will's mother to Lambeau's role as ambitious father.
The film is rich with detail and is a wonderful medium for the support actors. Ben Affleck's role as Will's best friend is not as visible as Matt Damon's but he carries it off with just the right amount of fatalism and aggression. Will's Lady friend Skylar, is also worth special mention. Minnie Driver takes a seemingly token "love interest" role and breaths real depth into it. Without her efforts, Will's final choice would not have rung true and might have marred the whole film.
Good Will Hunting is a tribute to the dreams of American youth. Both because two young men managed to reach the pinnacle of their craft on their first outing but more importantly, because it deals with one young man's struggle to overcome his troublesome past while reaching out to grasp life, love and happiness. It's touching, entertaining and at the same time inspirational.
|
|
|
18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Forever A Classic In My Eyes, December 16, 2001
I've watched this movie more than any other in my collection and am awestricken every time. Profound acting, immaculate cinematography, and undeniably brilliant dialogue leaves me with only one word to describe the film - incredible.Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, the screenwriters for Good Will Hunting, are clearly WAY beyond their respective years in wisdom and perceptiveness. They wrote a story that I consider to be one of the most insightful and thought-provoking ever told. Robin Williams also helped out immensely with his acting role, quite often putting a grin on your face with his witty dialogue, then, seconds later, abruptly slapping that grin away with heartfelt earnesty. Minnie Driver played an excellent part as well, giving the audience a veritable view of what it feels like be in love with someone who doesn't love you back. In conclusion, if you want a flick that makes you think, laugh, and cry all at once, then do yourself a favor and BUY THIS MOVIE! And to all the holy whiners: Yes, there are a fair amount of cuss words in the film, but c'mon: Pay a visit to reality land, will ya'? I definitely do NOT expect four ruffians from South Boston to say "golly gee" all the time, do you? I'm sorry if it hurts your little virgin ears, but "Good Will Hunting" is a true-to-life movie, and the vulgarity that you so despise simply adds to the genuineness of the story. So HOW DO YA LIKE THEM APPLES?!
|
|
|
16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
One Of The Best Contemporary Dramas Available!, July 14, 2002
This movie goes off the charts in all the most important ways, in terms of storyline, ensemble acting presented, contemporary humor, revealing truths about life and the problems associated with a young, brilliant, but emotionally troubled young man trying desperately to make sense out of a crazy world. What is so amazing and so remarkable about the film is that it was the handywork and dreamchild of two relatively unknown (at least up until then) actors and screenwriters in the persons of Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, boyhood friends and denizens of the greater Boston area. Add to this superb screenplay the support of wonderful actors like Robin Williams, who won a best supporting actor oscar for his role as the psychiatrist who unlocks the secrets to the protagonist (Will Hunting)and allows him to grow and mature. Minnie Driver is also excellent as the love interest drawing Will Hunting toward his beckoning adulthood. She is also the occasion for the single best line in the film; "You like apples? I got her phone number! How do you like them apples?" This film works so well on so many levels that it is really a shame that it lost the Oscar for best picture to "Shakespeare In Love", for this is a far more powerful, enduring, and worthwhile film experience. if you haven't seen it, I recommend you RUN to the nearest video store and rent it. And after you swoon before its magic, you'll want to come back to Amazon.com and order a copy for your personal video library. Enjoy!
|
|
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews
|
DVD ~ Robin Williams
DVD ~ Tom Hanks
DVD ~ Sean Connery
DVD ~ Paul Bettany
DVD ~ Tom Hanks
