Good Will Hunting

This paper analyzes Gus Van Sant's film, "Good Will Hunting," written by two of the film's stars, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. The movie tells the story of a natural genius whose troubled background prevents him from using his gifts. Only when he is forced to spend time with a therapist with an equally troubling past is he able to free himself from the traps of his past.

Will Hunting (Matt Damon) is a "broom-pushing prodigy from South Boston" (Maslin B10). Orphaned at an early age, Will has traveled from one abusive, neglectful foster home to another, accumulating a juvenile record and a reputation as a rebel without any kind of a cause. His one saving attribute (besides his incredible good looks) is an amazing brain: a photographic memory, a fascination with history, and a genius-level facility with mathematical equations. Richard Schickel describes him as "a brilliant autodidact, confused by his own genius, alternately angry and vulnerable" (80). David Denby poses the film's initial premise: "What if an extraordinary mind was put into the body of an orphaned, abused Southie, a boy contemptuous of career and status, a boy with a violent streak - even a bit of a thug?" (62).

Will does not consider using his gifts to break away from his roots. Janet Maslin observes, "Will, the most likably recalcitrant coming-of-age character this side of Gilbert Grape, resists any whiff of success" (B10). He supports himself with a menial job as a janitor. However, he chooses t

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s first real attempts to connect with people outside his circle of childhood friends. His sessions with Sean are key to these attempts. In a remarkable monologue early in their sessions, Sean explains that he cannot force Will to talk to him and that he cannot help him if he remains silent. When Will then discovers one of the sources of Sean's withdrawal from the world, he begins to draw the doctor out of his shell and, in the process, starts on his own road to recovery. Will confesses that he is growing fond of Skylar and is therefore afraid to continue the relationship for fear of being hurt; his confession allows both men to recognize the cowardice of running away from involvement. Sean has his own demons to deal with. He is in perpetual mourning for his late wife; his own life has nearly ended along with hers. To his friends, especially Lambeau, he is a failure. He has been reduced to teaching introductory psychology classes to bored students at Bunker Hill Community College. At the start of the story, he is as uninterested as Will is in achieving anything that might be described as success. He finds Will to be a challenge, perhaps the first real challenge to reawaken his interest in a long time. Sean and Will fi

Category: Film - G