It
must be excruciating to spend your whole life studying something and then watch
a high school dropout do the same things you can do, and more, effortlessly. “Most days I wish I'd never met you 'cause
then I could sleep at night. I didn't have to walk around with the knowledge
that there was someone like you out there. I didn't have to watch you throw it
all away.”
The film “Good Will Hunting”,
directed by Gus Van Sant, tells the story of Will (Damon), a disobedient janitor
at MIT whose priorities are misconstrued.
He is more interested in going out and drinking with his friends than
living up to his full potential. Lambeau
(Skarsgard), a math professor at MIT, writes a difficult algorithm on a
blackboard in the hallway for students to attempt to solve. Will completes the problem with ease and no
one knew who solved it until a few days later when Will gets caught in the act. Will get’s into some trouble for fighting and
Professor Lambeau offers him an out by allowing him to do math with him daily
and go to counseling instead of going to jail.
Lambeau has trouble finding a councilor that will put up with Wills shenanigans
but eventually settles for his old college roommate, Sean McGuire (Williams). Will struggles with the idea of leaving his
blue-collared job, and best friend Chuckie (Affleck) behind and moving on to
start a new life. Along the way he meets
a special girl, Skyler (Driver), who opens his mind, and his heart. Will and Sean work together to overcome their
pasts and move on to a brighter future.
The goal of college is to get an
education. A good college movie is not just
about telling a story, it’s about teaching a lesson. The film “Good Will Hunting” written by Matt
Damon and Ben Affleck teaches viewers the following lessons: don’t take things
for granted, follow your dreams, and above all, no matter how smart you are, or
how much potential you have to make money, in the end you need to do what makes
you happy. Unlike other college films, this
movie encompasses not only the social aspects of college life, but also the
emotions of leaving friends behind (which all college kids can relate to) and the
importance of academics.
This film has an outstanding
cast which keep the audience engaged through each individual scene. Their performances outweigh the
overall predictable plotline. One scene in particular that stood out to me, demonstrated Williams’
impeccable performance when he finally got through to Will that “it is not
your fault”.
Overall, “Good Will Hunting” tells an
interesting story of a boy who has the answer to any problem, except the one
inside himself. It teaches lessons that
college students should keep in mind while pursuing their degrees. While I would recommend this movie to college
students, I would not recommend bringing younger siblings seeing as it is rated
R and includes foul language.
