Starring Matt Damon; A youth with a gift for mathematics, but needs help from a psychologist to find direction in his life. While MIT as a janitor, he solves a difficult graduate-level math problem which exposes him to Professor Gerald who decides to help him attain his potential.
The film works as a character-driven narrative because Mr. Van Sant and his co-screenwriters are not afraid to unlock the psychological mysteries of their five major characters with clear and concise dialogue.
For the first time in his career, Van Sant is invisible as a filmmaker, simply getting out of the way of the story and his performers. The film is richer for it.
Towering performance by Matt Damon as a troubled working class who needs to address his creative genius elevates this drama way above its therapeutic approach, resulting in a zeitgeist film that may touch chord with young viewers the way The Graduate did
Arizona Daily Star
October 07, 2005
The film succeeds not because of an overall arc, but as a chain of smaller moments that glimmer in their minuscule perfection.
Good Will Hunting narrowly avoids many sentimental pitfalls thanks to what doesn't happen...
Combustible Celluloid
May 26, 2006
Can get overly sentimental at times, but Gus Van Sant's sensitive direction... and his excellent use of the city make it a hugely entertaining and effective film.
While the charismatic performances of Damon and Affleck make "Good Will Hunting" a difficult entertainment to resist, doing just that is not as hard as the film would like to think.
The best thing about Good Will Hunting is not in its well-crafted, psychological symmetries but in the just-plain messiness of its humanity. It's rowdy, it's funny, it's heartbreaking - it rings of life.
