Good Will Hunting
Overview
Good Will Hunting is a 1997 drama film directed by Gus Van Sant, written by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. The film stars Matt Damon as Will Hunting, a 20-year-old janitor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) who is a self-taught genius. The film is set in Boston. Will is a brilliant mathematician, but he is also a troubled young man. He is an orphan, he has been abused, and he is angry. He solves a complex math problem that a professor, Gerald Lambeau (Stellan Skarsgård), has posted on a blackboard. Lambeau discovers Will's talent, and he arranges for Will to avoid jail time for assault in exchange for studying math with him and seeing a therapist. Will sees several therapists, and he drives them all away. Lambeau calls on his old college roommate, Sean Maguire (Robin Williams), a community college psychology professor. Sean is a kind, wise, and grieving man. He is also from South Boston, like Will. He challenges Will, and he forces Will to confront his past and his fear of intimacy. Will falls in love with Skylar (Minnie Driver), a British medical student who is planning to move to California. He is afraid to go with her, because he is afraid of being abandoned. The film is a meditation on genius, trauma, and the importance of human connection. It is also a love letter to Boston. The film ends with Will choosing to go to California to be with Skylar. He leaves a note for Sean, saying, "I had to go see about a girl." Good Will Hunting won two Academy Awards: Best Supporting Actor for Robin Williams and Best Original Screenplay for Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. The film is a beloved classic, a warm, funny, and deeply moving film about the healing power of friendship.
