Film Addict's September Film Choice

I was completely gutted last month when Robin Williams died; he was, and still is, one of my favourite actors when I was growing up because he always made me laugh and I especially loved Aladdin and Mrs. Doubtfire.  My original intention was to review one of his films in August but then I remembered I promised to review Treasure Planet for my sister's 20th birthday so now the Film Addict's September Film Choice is Good Will Hunting because it's another one of my favourite films from Robin Williams, plus it's my best friend's favourite film and coincidentally, it was her birthday in August so this is for her as well.

Good Will Hunting is the 1997 drama film from Gus Van Sant and stars Robin Williams (Mrs. Doubtfire, Dead Poets Society), Matt Damon (The Bourne Identity, Saving Private Ryan), Ben Affleck (Argo, Pearl Harbour), Minnie Driver (Tarzan, Princess Mononoke), and Stellan Skarsgård (Marvel Cinematic Universe, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead's Man Chest).  Upon Good Will Hunting's initial release, it received almost universal critical acclaim and became a financial success; as well as critical and financial success, it was nominated for nine Academy Awards and won two: Best Supporting Actor for Williams and Best for Best Writing (Original Screenplay) for Affleck and Damon.  The success of this film, being the writers of Good Will Hunting launched both Affleck's and Damon's careers which allowed them to gain more high-profile roles such as Armageddon (Affleck) and Saving Private Ryan (Damon).

Rating: 9

Recommended To: Matt Damon fans; Robin Williams fans

Favourite Characters: Chuck - voice of reason; Sean - understands Will better than Will thinks

Favourite Part: Sean: Do you have a soul mate?
Will: Define that?
Sean: Someone you can relate to, someone who opens things up for you.
Will: Sure, I got plenty.
Sean: Well, name them.
Will: Shakespeare, Nietzsche, Frost, O'Conner...
Sean: Well that's great. They're all dead.
Will: Not to me, they're not.
Sean: You can't have a lot of dialogue with them.
Will: Not without a heater and some serious smelling salts.

Good Points: Sean and Will's relationship; the use of the hero journey; great chemistry between the cast

Bad Points: First half hour dragged; predictable story

Good Will Hunting, a story about 20 year old janitor (Damon) who works at MIT and has genius-level intellect and an eidetic memory and spends his free time reading and drinking with his friends - Chuckie (Affleck), Billy (Cole Hauser, Hart's War), and Morgan (Casey Affleck, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford) despite his potential for something greater.  At MIT, Professor Gerald Lambeau (Skarsgård) posts a difficult problem in the corridor as a challenge for his graduate students which Will solves anonymously which stuns both Lambeau and his students.  As another challenge to the mystery genius, Lambeau posts another problem for them to solve and happens upon Will as he solves it who then bolts and later on that night, after meeting Skylar (Driver), a British orphan studying at Harvard, Will ends up in a fight with a young man from his past as well as a police officer, Will is arrested and faces incarceration but Lambeau comes to Will's rescue with a deal - that Will studies maths under Lambeau's supervision as well as seeking psychotherapy.  Will agrees but refuses to open up to any of the therapists he meets until Lambeau, in desperation, gets his old college roommate that he hasn't spoken to in years, Dr. Sean Maguire (Williams), to try and get through to the young Boston man.  As the film progresses, we see Sean and Will bond as they swap stories and Will begins to venture outside of his comfort zone, to see new possibilities with the help of Sean, Lambeau, and his friends.

I find Sean and Will's relationship completely fascinating and the main draw in this film for me as well as my friend I think, though she hasn't told me this.  They push one another from their very first meeting, trying to make one another crack and show their true characters, and while they just ride each other up, you can see this spark (chemistry) that you know will be good for entertainment purposes.  Before anyone else in Will's life stands up to him, including his best friend Chuck who he's known since he was a kid, Sean stands up to the cocky Will Hunting and the latter find someone worth talking to, something he seems to lack as he sees it as a challenge and it's this part of their relationship which I find interesting because you get to see more of Will's personality as well as Sean's, other than the cocky boy from Boston.

I will forever wish I spoke about Good Will Hunting during my time at university because Will and Sean go through what is known as the hero's journey, based on a theory by Joseph Campbell where the hero of the story goes through a quest-like journey, whether emotional or physical, and this structure is a common part of story-telling, whether a novel or a film, and it's not just the main character that can go through this.  It can be a matter of opinion and how someone observes a text but I can see Will and Sean going through their own hero journeys and act as one another's mentors through difficult moments.  I loved this point because it implies that Affleck and Damon thought the story out extremely well and researched other scripts to know what works well and makes a good story.  Because of this, I understand why Affleck and Damon won an Academy Award for the script because there is a well-researched structure behind it and is a simple yet strong story for this cast to tell.

The chemistry between the cast was wonderful and while I am aware some of the cast have known each other for years, the Affleck brothers and Damon for example, but this history, and therefore their already established chemistry, means they have this rapport that is not seen often with a cast that have only met recently.  However, I even found the chemistry between Damon and Driver was natural and believable as they joked around; while they met when Driver was cast as Skylar, Damon and Driver became a couple during production which then translated onto screen as they fooled around with one another.  All of the relationships, old and new, were believable and therefore made their interactions and the story realistic which is what makes a film strong in my opinion.  Granted, the screenplay is good but the film its self wouldn't have been as good without the cast and their chemistry.

I love Chuck, I love everything about him - his looks, his personality, his relationship with Will, and his role in the film.  He is Will's voice of reason, he knows Will has this great potential but doesn't push him until Will really needs a kick up the arse; he's the big brother Will needs and the most loyal friend he'll ever have because he wants Will to fulfil his potential and get out of Boston as Chuck believes that he himself is destined to live there forever and is completely fine with that and finds it an insult that Will is residing himself to this life.  We all need a Chuck in our lives every so often, even for the little things.  It also helps that Ben Affleck portrays Chuck and alongside Chris Evans and a couple others, Affleck is one of my favourite actors and while I haven't seen all of his films, the ones I've seen I have enjoyed.

Much like Chuck is the voice of reason in Will's life, Sean is the one who breaks through Will's cocky wall that he is built around himself, which allows Chuck to say what he does to Will in the end and is probably why he is one of my favourite characters.  Due to them being very similar personality-wise, Sean understands Will better than Will thinks and is able to stand up to him.  Without Sean, or even Williams portraying Sean, this film wouldn't be as good as it and is one of the roles that sticks in my mind when I think of Williams and it is wonderful that he won an Academy Award for his role; on his performance alone, I would recommend Good Will Hunting.

While I love the story that drives this film because of the interpretation of classic storytelling devices, such as the hero journey, there is a sense of predictability and second guessing as it is a fairly simple story and follows normal story conventions; janitor discovered to be a mathematical genius but refuses to work due to bravado so in comes a similar character that breaks through the bravado, plus love story.  We can see where the story is going and there is very little that surprises me over the course of the film but I still find it a wonderful film because of the people that are starring and it has a more down to earth feel to it, almost indie-like, without all the hoopla that generally comes with an American film, targeted for awards.

If I were to change anything about this film, it would be somehow bringing a bit more life into the first half hour where it establishes Will's character and shows the audience the wall Will has built around himself so to protect himself.  While I enjoyed parts of it, the first half hour felt like it dragged a bit and became boring.  Fortunately, in came Sean in the nick of time, bringing a spark of life to the film and someone who can stand up to Will.  Maybe it's a biased opinion but Robin Williams is what drew to me this film so from his entrance, I enjoyed Good Will Hunting and could easily skip parts beforehand.

Sean: Do you have a soul mate?
Will: Define that?
Sean: Someone you can relate to, someone who opens things up for you.
Will: Sure, I got plenty.
Sean: Well, name them.
Will: Shakespeare, Nietzsche, Frost, O'Conner...
Sean: Well that's great. They're all dead.
Will: Not to me, they're not.
Sean: You can't have a lot of dialogue with them.
Will: Not without a heater and some serious smelling salts.

This was by far my favourite part because I found it to be quite thought provoking as if this is how a soul mate us defined, I interpreted this as Will having a few characters who could be his soul mate, those that confronted him through this film because, for me, Sean means that soul mates are not just potential romantic interests.  Sean, Chuck, and Skylar could be seen as Will's soul mate, though Chuck less so because he was just behaving like a brother to Will and was brutally honest; Sean breaks through Will's wall first and is able to get an emotional response from him, making him seem what he has been doing with those close to him and Skylar then makes Will open up eventually but not quite like Sean who gets the most reaction from Will.

Besides the slight predictability of the story and the slow first half hour, I love this film for the chemistry between the cast and the relationship between Will and Sean that drives this film.  Matt Damon and Robin Williams are wonderful together and because of their chemistry, Good Will Hunting is one of my favourite films starring Williams and I want to share it with anyone out there after his tragic death.  Despite his flaws, Williams was an interesting actor and provided me with a lot of great childhood memories - it was a close call between this film, Aladdin, and Mrs. Doubtfire this month - and it is a shame that he is gone.

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