Good Will Hunting is a movie that teaches the importance of moving on by conquering fear and being vulnerable in love. This movie will tug at your heartstrings and has changed my self-image and perspective on love.
This movie is about an orphaned teenager named Will who works as a janitor at MIT and happens to have a genius-level IQ, but he often acts out and disregards his gift. Professor Gerald Lambeau discovers Will’s potential and makes a deal that he will help Will if he agrees to work on his intellectuality as well as see a therapist, Sean Maguire. In the sessions, he strives to help Will find his direction in life.
It is rated R for mature audiences, due to profanity and an excess of alcohol use.
Interestingly enough, Matt Damon (who plays Will Hunting) and Ben Affleck (who plays Chuckie Sullivan) created the screenplay together. Sadly, Robin Williams (who played Sean Maguire) passed away in 2014.
I first watched this movie a few months ago with my friend. I heard about it and the psychological themes on social media but never gave it much interest. The first time I watched Good Will Hunting, I immediately regretted not doing so earlier.
Watching both Will and Sean’s lives unfold is deeply emotional and shows the importance of opening up. It is inspirational and taught me to cherish the little moments that might be disregarded easily. Every part of this movie is intriguing and has a meaningful message.
Some critics express that the representation of Will’s IQ is off and conveys that he does not need to work to achieve success, and also portrays a shallow idea of science. The movie has a score of 97% on Rotten Tomatoes, so few people harbor these negative opinions.
The movie is two hours and six minutes long, so it can easily be watched in one sitting. It can be found on Amazon Prime Video.
On a scale of 1-5, I would give Good Will Hunting 5 RedHawks. Damon and Williams’ portrayal of grief and loss is beautifully done and there is never a dull moment. There are several meaningful takeaways from this perfect, coming-of-age movie.
