GOOD WILL HUNTING REVIEW!!! (IN MEMORY OF ROBIN WILLIAMS!)
- Matt Palmer
- Sep 4, 2023
- 3 min read
Initial release date: December 5, 1997
Studios: Miramax Films
Tagline: Some people can never believe in themselves until someone believes in them.
Plot: Will Hunting has a genius level IQ but chooses to work as a janitor as MIT. When he solves a difficult graduate level math problem, his talents are discovered by Professor Gerald Lambeau, who decides to help the misguided youth reach his potential. When Will is arrested for attacking someone, Lambeau makes a deal to get leniency for him if he gets treatment from therapist Sean Maguire.
Cast
Matt Damon - Will
Ben Affleck - Chuckie
Stellan Skarsgaard - Lambeau
Casey Affleck - Morgan
Cole Hauser - Billy
Minnie Driver - Skyler
Jennifer Deathe - Lydia
Scott Williams Winters - Clark
Robin Williams - Sean
John Mighton - Tom
Rachel Majorowski - Krystyn
Colleen McCauley - Cathy
Writer(s): Matt Damon (The Last Duel; Promised Land)
Ben Affleck (The Last Duel; Live By Night; The Town)
Director: Gus Van Sant (Promised Land; Milk)
Rated R for strong language, including some sex-related dialogue (126 minutes)
Good Will Hunting is another film that features the late great Robin Williams that delivers great performances from the cast and is a fantastic, moving story.
Sure the film can be a little slow moving during certain points. But, this film will still pull you in and it will still be enjoyable!
Like I stated before, Good Will Hunting delivers amazing performances, led by Affleck and Damon. But Williams can easily outshine them with his acting. His role as the therapist is quite moving and dramatic when he needs to be, and at times, humorous. With all the amazing performances from Williams over the years, he finally won an Oscar for this film.
Overall, Good Will Hunting can be rather moving during quite a few scenes, especially once Sean Maguire (Williams) begins to get closer to Will (Damon). If you enjoy this film, you can stream it through the Max (formerly known as HBO Max) streaming platform.
Here are some fun tidbits for Good Will Hunting!
In 2014, after Robin Williams died, the bench in the Boston Public Garden where he and Damon had their conversation scene became an impromptu memorial site. People left flowers, quotes, and various items on the bench. A petition had been passed around to erect a statue in Williams' memory near the bench.
The lines in the scene when Sean talks about his late wife's gassy antics were ad-libbed by Williams. That is why Damon was laughing so hard. If you watch the scene carefully, you can notice the camera shaking a bit, possibly due to the cameraman laughing as well.
When Williams and Damon were shooting the scene on the bench in the Public Garden, it seems like they're the only people in the park. However, due to Williams being a massive star, at one point, over 3000 people were at the location watching the scene.
The script was originally developed by Castle Rock Entertainment, Rob Reiner's production company. When they didn't know what to do with it, producer Kevin Smith took the script to Miramax. It became the highest grossing film in Miramax history until Chicago topped it.
The mathematical equations seen in the opening credits are part of a math technique called "Fourier Analysis" which approximates functions by sines and cosines. It's used a lot in physics and engineering.
Robin Williams' last line in the film - "Son of a bitch. He stole my line" - was also ad-libbed.
Matt Damon started writing the film as a final assignment for a play-writing class he was taking at Harvard University. Instead of writing a one act play, Damon submitted a 40 page script.
In the film's opening weekend in limited release, it earned $272,912 In its January 1998 wide release opening weekend, it earned $10.2 million. It went on to gross $138.4 million domestically and a worldwide total of $225.9 million.
Oscar nominations the film received: Best Picture; Best Director; Best Actor; Best Supporting Actor (won); Best Supporting Actress; Best Screenplay (won); Best Film Editing; Best Score; Best Original Song.
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