|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
’Will Hunting’ a shining star in space dust of modern film |
|
|
|
By Krista Benson |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
Sometimes, the smartest person in one of the most prestigious schools in the nation isn’t the girl sitting in the front row of calculus or the guy setting up an astrophysics homepage in his free time. Sometimes, it’s the guy who mops the floors. “Good Will Hunting,” starring Robin Williams, Minnie Driver and Matt Damon, is the story of Will Hunting (Damon), a math prodigy who has ignored his genius in favor of cleaning floors at MIT and getting into fights. Will is a prodigy from the South Side of Boston who has been blessed with a photographic memory and a raw talent for solving, in a matter of minutes, complex caculus problems that take the greatest minds of the world years to figure out. He is very aware of the talent that he has, but has managed to ignore it for years. Then, Will solves a math theorem that professors had vainly hoped would be solved by some lucky student over the course of a semester. Will, however solves it in a mere hour while cleaning the floors of a building at MIT. When Professor Lambeau, head of the MIT math department, finds out who solved the problem in such a short time, he hunts down his newest genius. Fortunately for MIT, Will has recently been arrested yet another assault charge. Before he is sentenced, the MIT professor (Stellan Skarsgard) offers him a deal — meet with Lambeau once a week for math exercises and once a week with a psychiatrist, and he won’t have to go to jail. Between theorems, mopping floors and getting drunk, Will falls for Skylar (masterfully played by Driver), a rich Harvard student who is the reason behind the beginning of the end of the juvenile delinquent and the gradual acceptance of genius. Will’s cocky and defensive manner scares away scores of psychiatrists before Lambeau remembers a psychiatrist friend who may be able to understand the boy better than anyone — his old college roommate Sean (Williams). When Will and Sean meet, it’s a battle of wills to see who can hold out the longest before they start talking. Sean begins to break down Will’s barriers, and they begin to work though many of Will’s emotional problems, including the reason behind his violent tendencies. While it sounds nauseatingly “feel good,” the psychiatric sessions are some of the more interesting parts of the film, as the viewer watches Will evolve from a defensive punk devoid of any real emotion to a big gooey blob of feelings. “Good Will Hunting” is a well-written movie with complex characters and a multi-faceted plot, neither of which are found in abundance in movies today, in which a complex character is seen as often as Burt Reynold’s real hair color. A powerful, complex script, well written characters and stunning performances from all of the actors make “Good Will Hunting” one of the finest movies that have been released in a long time. This is no “Spiceworld” — “Good Will Hunting” has a bit of something for everyone … and it even has a plot. Even non-romantic and jaded viewers will have no choice but to love this movie. The genius who mops floors will take your heart and run with it. |
|
|
|
|
|
|