Movie Review
Good Will Hunting is unlike any movie I’ve ever seen or any I’d thought I’d watch. It is about Will Hunting, a boy from the South Side of Boston who grew up in foster homes with no one but his friends and violence to turn to. While working as a janitor at MIT, he starts working on math problems posted outside of Professor Lambeau's classroom. After getting arrested for assault, he returns to MIT and solves a problem that had taken it’s creators over two years to solve. From there, the professor and Will’s new therapist take him under their wing and help him to reach his full potential.
Seeing Will throw away his potential was honestly difficult to watch. As such a genius, with a photographic memory no doubt, he didn’t appreciate himself at all enough. He didn’t consider himself worthy of good things and he was too scared to admit that until late in the movie. I liked how Sean helped him realize his worth in a way that a father should, but never had. Will got a father figure through this experience, though a decision was made to never come right out and say how close they’d become- instead showing it in the way the acted together.
The movie was so well made and the story line played out perfectly. I loved the way the actors embodied their characters, down to their accents and their eyes when speaking of love and loss. I appreciated the variety of shots and cinemagraphic strategies used, one of my favorite parts was when Sean (the therapist) was talking about the day he met his wife- the day of the Red Sox World Series game- and B-Roll was used in such a perfect way. Clips from the actual game itself made the conversation seem so realistic. It was parts like that, making it so I can’t find anything I overly dislike about Good Will Hunting.
While watching the movie I took notes of some of my favorite scenes and aspects of the movie. The camera work changed throughout the whole movie. In one of the first conversations where Will and Sean exchanged words, they laughed. When they were laughing the camera bobbed up and down with their heads and then steadied out when the conversation became more serious- this made me feel like I was in the room with them and thought it was a very smart way to embody that.
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Another scene that was unique was when Skylar and Will layed in bed, the camera zoomed in very close on hands or foreheads, never the whole shot. That made the scene feel very personal, as well as the music growing louder over their talking being used as a great transition.
While watching this movie I was never bored. The background was always moving, whether at the diner when the people in the background are walking and the camera zooms to Skylar and Will from behind the counter, or when the professor and Sean are interrupted to ask “coffee?”, or at the park with people walking all around, something is always going on.
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Good Will Hunting has inspired me to be more creative about the films I make, specifically: what goes on in the background of scenes, zoom ins, and interesting transitions between scenes. I would recommend this movie to absolutely anyone. It is on a top 100 movies of all time list because it is one of them. It is an amazing movie, personal, dramatic, educational, and realistic. This isn’t just a romance movie, or a movie about a boy with a troubled past, or about a kid genius, it is everything you want in a movie- making it perfect for all audiences (except young children because there is a lot of swearing).
Good Will hunting #53
Good will hunting
