Every week, we in Her.ie towers will provide you with a blast from the past, a film that you cannot live without but nor should you, the classic film that you simply need to watch.
With the week that’s in it and the fact that we lost one of the great stars from Hollywood, this week we thought we would focus on the brilliant Good Will Hunting.
Good Will Hunting just came out of nowhere, one of those great little films that takes the Academy by storm and proves to be the little film that could. Written by its two lead actors, the enormously talented Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, Hunting managed to take home two Academy Awards for Best Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor. It also took in a whopping $225 million worldwide even though it was just made for $10 million. It also produced one of the best Robin William’s performances.
The film revolves around a man who works as a janitor, although he is secretly a mathematical genius. Will Hunting has a bit of an attitude problem however and when he is arrested for assaulting a man who bullied him in his youth, the only way he can get out of the dilemma is through a Professor who has noticed his genius. The Professor arranges for Hunting to go through therapy in order to deal with the anger he has obviously been harbouring.
Besides the fact that the script that Damon and Affleck brought to the big screen is absolutely amazing, the character development is really the main draw of Good Will Hunting. Yes, Hunting has issues but he is a genius, he just needs someone to love him and to listen to him. It is only through his unique relationship with Robin Williams character that we really notice the changes in him.
Despite Damon being a huge draw here, Williams is most definitely the spellbinding and outstanding performance here. Completely playing against type, Williams plays a broken psychologist who has tragically lost his wife. Although haphazard, his therapy is quite obviously helping Hunting without him even realising it. His speech to Damon on the park bench is perhaps the most heartbreaking of all.
There are at least three moments in this film that will absolutely break you, it is brimming with emotion and integrity and the love of cinema is very evident from a wonderful script and these amazing characters that Damon and Affleck created. Much like their characters in the film, the pair proved they could succeed.
It’s sad to let Williams go but we have so much work to be thankful for; Good Will Hunting is just one of those projects.
