With a different cast, Good Will Hunting might not have been a success: its 97% Rotten Tomatoes critical rating is due largely to Robin Williams’ incredible performance. Stars Matt Damon and Ben Affleck do a decent job in their cinema debut, which they co-wrote, but make no mistake: this is Robin Williams’ movie, and a reminder of what we’ve so sadly lost.
The plot of Good Will Hunting is simple, and like its title it’s a bit silly: the titular Will Hunting is a genius working as a janitor, but when he solves a hugely complex math problem he’s taken under the wing of professor Lambeau (Stellan Skarsgard).
When Will gets into an altercation with a cop, Lambeau strikes a deal: Will can stay at MIT if he gets therapy from Sean Maguire, played by Williams. And that therapy is where the huge heart of one of the best Prime Video movies resides.
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Why Good Will Hunting is, well, good
Will is “the most likably recalcitrant coming-of-age character this side of Gilbert Grape,” the New York Times‘ Janet Maslin wrote. “What it does beautifully is to develop a doctor-patient sparring that becomes affecting and important to both parties. Edgy and sarcastic as he is, Will works overtime to locate the doctor’s raw nerves, and the actors play this out passionately. Williams is wonderfully strong and substantial here; Damon, very much the supernova, is mercurial in ways that keep his character steadily surprising.”
Some of the film is very, very sad; there’s a scene in particular that’ll stay with you for a long time.
As Roxana Hadadi of RogerEbert.com says in an incredibly detailed retrospective, “Good Will Hunting is actually really damn good. Right now, when the world around us feels particularly overwhelming and the pressures of our everyday routines seem outside of our control, the healing nature of Good Will Hunting is a balm.”
The movie is “a melancholy, affecting thing… The catharsis provided by Damon and Affleck’s best film has gotten more bittersweet with time, but it hasn’t faded.” Empire gave the movie all five stars. “Good Will Hunting is, simply, as good as movies get”.
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