Quick Movie Review - Good Will Hunting

I really enjoyed this movie. I felt good after watching it. I don't think a movie necessarily has to have a happy ending to make you feel good afterward, though this one did - maybe excessively so.

The relationships felt real. Ben Affleck's character, Chuckie, was a loyal friend, always helpful but also not afraid to dig in a little bit when he had to. There was no character development among Will's fellow "Southies," but that was probably the point Chuckie was trying to make at the construction yard toward the film's climax. The love interest in the film was secondary to the most important relationship Will had, but she certainly served as a vehicle to advance Will's self-realization and development, and the two had some chemistry. Between their flirtation, tears, and lazy afternoons... I bought it, and that fact made the somewhat over-the-top ending more tolerable.

But the most important relationship was between Will and Sean, played by Robin Williams in a remarkably poignant role. After he decided to just ditch the terrible Baaahstin accent about 45 minutes into the movie, his character proved to be loving and lovable. While the love interest was merely a vehicle for Will to see his defensive and self-destructive tendencies, Sean was the motor driving it, and the bond between the two probably hit home with anyone who's ever had an adult mentor profoundly touch them (not like that). The parent-child dynamic between the two was obvious, between the orphaned Will and the (presumably) childless widower Sean, but its being obvious didn't take away from the development of the relationship between the two men and the growth they gained from each other.

I liked the way the movie was shot. Pretty conservative minus a few noticeably long closeups during poignant moments. The music was also very conservative—Elliot Smith certainly had the corner on the late 90s-early naughties art-house melodrama soundtrack—but I thought it fit the mood. Danny Elfman's score articulated some moments but didn't ever really get in the way of the human moments of the film. (I feel like with most film scores in non-action movies, the less you notice, the better. I didn't notice this one.)

This wasn't an overly dark film, and the moments of legitimate humor did well to pick the film up and counter the grating and pretentious Stellan Skarsgård character, Will's mathematics professor. Will's wit combined with his encyclopedic knowledge of literature and theory lead to some of the movie's best moments, both in serious and whimsical scenes, and even if he's the only one, he's an unforgettable movie character. Again, one of my major criticisms of the story would be the ending, but I left happy and the lack of resolution was nagging at me, so I guess I got what I was looking for.

See this if you haven't; it's good.