Review of Good Will Hunting

Good Will Hunting is a great movie about friendship, relationships and the finding of ones path in life. The movie does a really good job of developing relationships between the characters. Will has a group of three other friends that would do anything for him and he would do anything for them. They are from the rough side of Boston, the south side. There are many examples of this in the movie,there is a scene in the movie were Will and his friends are in a fight only because the person they were fighting beat Will up in kindergarten. Another example, which is also one of my favorite scenes in the movie, is when Ben Affleck's character goes up to a couple of girls in a bar that is a neighborhood near Harvard University. Another patron in the bar, who is a student of Harvard, attempts to embarrass Affleck's character. Will steps in and shows how truly smart he is. He stands up for his friend and eventually wins the girl. The relationships that develop in the movie are interesting. The relationship between Will and Prof. Lambeau seems father like. It really seems that Lambeau can see the true potential in Will and is pushing him to be the best he can be. He is also pushing him really hard for the benefit of the field of Mathematics. The relationship that develops between Will and Prof. Maguire, Robin Williams, seems to be the relationship of an older brother. Maguire is also trying to get Will to realize his full potential and also understand that it is okay to trust people that are outside of his comfort zone. The relationship he has with his girlfriend is really distant. She made herself completely vulnerable, and Will just kept his distance. He tried to ruin their relationship because he was scared.

The article “…Coming of Age in American Film and Novels” summarizes the main theme of this movie by saying it’s a film about “…Boyz to men”. I agree with this statement, this movie is about growing up and moving on with our lives. Will needed to see that it was alright to leave south Boston and see the world. He needed to see that it was okay to leave his friends and explore the world. It was okay to experience everything that he had read about.

In the article "Too smart for their own good?", by Patrick McCormick, he describes the movie as having another genius that is just another loaner. The article uses examples like, A Beautiful Mind, which is about a genius who suffers from schizophrenia, and Rain Man, which is about a genius who suffers from autism. Will doesn't suffer from any form of disease or mental disorder. He is just a young man who has yet to realize his potential and who has gotten very comfortable in his life. He has a really close group of friends and is really happy with his life.


Too smart for their own good? By: McCormick, Patrick, U.S. Catholic, 00417548, Feb2003, Vol. 68, Issue 2

Holden Caulfield, Alex Portnoy, and Good Will Hunting: Coming of Age in American Films and Novels By: Ziewacz, Lawrence E.. Journal of Popular Culture, Summer2001, Vol. 35 Issue 1, p211-218, 8p; (AN 6058975)

The Art of Watching Films. Briggs, Dennis. McGraw-Hill, New York, NY. 2008