Good Will Hunting Film Review By Abbigail Azirou
Once upon a time back in 1997, a couple of struggling actors experienced a drought in roles coming their way, so they decided to write their own-"Good Will Hunting". Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, boyhood friends from Boston went on to sell their screenplay for big bucks. Additionally upon exhortation, they would act in the film and go on to win an Oscar for best Original Screenplay and Matt Damon an Oscar for best actor. In this review i will discuss how the director, Gus Van Sant uses technical tools such as sound, Mis-En-Scene, editing, cinematography and finally i will discuss the performance of Matt Damon who plays the lead, which all play a roll in evoking reaction and response within the viewers.
The protagonist (Matt Damon) is working as a janitor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, residing on the working class side of Boston. Our main character is a rowdy, unruly and rough lad who spends most of his free time doing what young boys do best- getting into all sorts of trouble and as Skylar says, he "divides his time evenly between batting cages and bars". Despite the lack of intelligence his simple, boisterous yet somehow charming friends display, of course our protagonist is different. Whilst his friends are out providing some comic-relief, Will is off reading library books in his spare time. Regardless of not having a thirst for knowledge, Will's brain seems to retain information in ways i'm not quite sure is humanly possible. When questioned by the love interest in the film, Skylar, how he seems to understand such in depth-knowledge on various topics, Will states: when Beethoven and Mozart looked at a piano they could just play, and whilst Will can't "play a lick" of piano or paint a picture, when it came to things like Skylars Harvard chemistry assignments, he could always just play.
Upon solving an MIT mathematical problem left on a blackboard outside of a lecture hall left for students to attempt, the quest of the film becomes to make good of Will Hunting. In essence, we are introduced to two characters who set out to take two very different strategies in doing so. The professor who discovered Will's gift, Professor Gerald Lambeau (Stellan Skarsgård) who is both inspired yet slightly exasperated by Will's intellect wants the young prodigy to use his talent to do well in life; To get a good job, possibly for the government and have a successful career. Contrasting starkly to Lambeau's character, we are introduced to Will's new therapist who has history with our professor. The inspiring and knowledgeable character is portrayed by the one and only Robin Williams who just want's will to be happy with his life outcome, no matter the pay of a big fancy job.
Whilst the performance delivered by Robin Williams in the infamous scene by the pond is perfectly outstanding, and the speech he implements about the difference between knowledge and experience is so profound actors use it as an audition piece to this day, the camera work in this scene is a bit unusual; something i personally haven't seen being used quite frequently before; a technique worth discussing. Throughout the scene, whilst Sean delivers his lines and Will answers, the camera lies consistently on a close up of Sean's face. There is no music in the background, only birds chirping in the blurred background and the distant wails from a siren, possibly an ambulance driving nearby. Van Sant manages to capture the essence of the surroundings in this scene- No soppy music necessary- whilst giving us this genuine and intimate bonding moment.
As William's delivers his lines, the camera begins panning towards will, almost so slowly it's not even noticeable at first. Through this powerful method, Van Sant conveys how Sean is slowly managing to get through to this young prodigy emotionally. It's so simple yet it works so well.
Whilst the performance from both Stellan Skarsgard and Robin Williams is notable, furthermore the depth of characterisation the film achieves is quite astounding, I personally think Damon's portrayal of this tough, brilliant, wild and exciting yet vulnerable character is above and beyond. He manages to capture the essence of the character perfectly, encapsulating the exhilarating ease of the character's wisdom combined with the dark, tragic turmoil that lurks beneath his rock-hard surface appearance. For example, in the scene in which Wills therapist, Seàn, breaks through his built-up exterior, Matt Damon's performance provides a rather touching moment. He really manages to manipulate the audiences emotions in feeling deep sympathy. The casual tone conveyed by Damon whilst explaining his father's torture techniques toys on the audience that much more since we can see our character has accepted these circumstances. Will's character states 'he used to just put a wrench, a stick and a belt on the table- and just say "choose"'. As the scene progresses, Damon becomes more and more emotional, conveying furrowed brows, scrunched nose and a crack in his voice which soon turns into a flood of tears, provoked by Sean repeatedly uttering "it's not your fault". Will embraces Sean, pulling off a very convincing sob-sesh. A powerful, raw, and emotional moment representing the moment Will bares all, allowing his emotions and past-trauma to catch up on him.
Of course Damon's acting isn't solely responsible for the impact of this scene, cinematography and sound also play a huge part. For example, whilst the characters are reminiscing on their past experiences with abuse, there is a very impressive kaleidoscopic shot of the presumed father walking up the stairs, resulting in a distorted effect. Furthermore, his footsteps loudly and rhythmically echo as he progresses further and further towards his victim, instilling fear and tension within the audience. The scene is, up until this point, mostly filmed using mid shots. Personally, i quite liked this. Although close-ups are usually used for intimate conversations to show emotion on the human face, i feel as though it can sometimes result in an experience that seems almost too fabricated to feel real. By using a mid-shot, although the experience isn't as cinematic it's more believable and realistic. Adding to this idea, once again there is no sad and soppy music playing in the background because it just isn't necessary. The raw dialogue is more than enough to tug on the viewers' heartstrings whilst all that's unfolding is dialogue. Furthermore, Van Sant uses warm-toned natural lighting which is quite inviting. It shows that Will is comfortable in this moment; able to be his most real self. As the scene becomes more and more intense, and Will is sobbing into Sean's arms, there is a brief close up whilst the music to transition between scenes starts playing. The violin, the harp and the piano intermingle as the camera slowly zooms out, leaving us with the view of Will and Sean sharing this moment in a big empty room. The music isn't sad because in an odd way, it's kind of a happy scene. Will has let go of the emotions he's been holding in for years and he now feels liberated, hence the uplifting music.
In conclusion, I think Gus Van Sant did an excellent job directing this film and using all of the listed techniques. Additionally, i think Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, as far as first attempts go, did a phenomenal job at writing the screenplay. My only criticism would be the ending. I thought it was very predictable and kind of a cliché, however you could argue it creates discussion as it is open to interpretation. Overall, i think the magic of the film was created in the individual special moments.
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