Good Will Hunting (1997)

tmdb40011370 November 24, 2019

★ 8/10

Will Hunting, is a working class 20 year old mathematical genius, and yet chooses to shun a university education, preferring instead to be a janitor at Harvard university. At a social level he is headstrong, arrogant, likes getting into fights as well as ending up in police cells for his regular anti-social behaviour. Despite having friends, they are not shining beacons leading him into a better light. He is happy with his lot, shuns commitment and his best form of defence is attack both physically and verbally against those who want to impose their will on him for better or worse. At the same university a professor of mathematics throws out a complex mathematical challenge to his students, asking them to complete the formula on a blackboard in the hall outside of his classroom. Will is cleaning floors one morning, comes across the blackboard and within seconds he has complete…

r96sk September 12, 2022

★ 9/10

So great! 'Good Will Hunting' is a film I had heard many a great thing about but had never actually seen it so didn't know anything about the plot - so much so that I genuinely thought it was about the good will of hunting or something... and certainly not about a character named Will Hunting! The poster makes it look like a film of that sort, in my defence. I also didn't realise, aside from the lead two, that the cast list was so stacked until the credits came up at the start. The names didn't let me down either, as the acting is superb across the board. Matt Damon and Robin Williams are truly outstanding together, I already rate them from other productions so I'm glad I can add another cracker to their respective filmographies. Even away from Messrs Damon and Williams, you've got very good displays from the likes of Stellan Skarsgård, Minnie Driver (emotionally, particularly,…

CinemaSerf July 24, 2023

★ 7/10

"Will" (Matt Damon) is a rudderless character who works as a caretaker. He's an attitudinal pain in the neck whom, aside from his best friend "Chuckie" (Ben Affleck), is pretty much shunned by everyone. "Professor Lambeau" (Stellan Skarsgård) spots some potential in this wayward lad, especially when he realises that he has an amazing ability to solve mathematical problems. To that end he sends him to see the eccentric psychologist "Sean" (Robin Williams) who proves remarkably adept at cutting down the young man's defences and at beginning to rebuild the character of the man in a more positive and life-affirming fashion. The film combines some excellent performances from all four men, but especially a bang on-form Williams as the penetrative, but flawed, route to salvation for an equally flawed and angry almost younger version of himself in the genius "Will". Damon is entirely convincing…

Filipe Manuel Neto August 13, 2023

★ 9/10

**A very good film, but with some flaws and problems that deserve attention.** This film is about a boy from Boston, who comes from very poor backgrounds, but who has a gift for mathematics, easily solving theorems and advanced problems that leave Harvard professors unanswered. He is discovered after solving one, at night and without telling anyone, and one of the professors at the university decides to help him be someone and make use of his gift. The problem is that he doesn't want to, he's not able to trust anyone, and he's seriously stuck with justice. Therefore, he will recruit an irreverent psychiatrist to try to help the boy. The film's premise is very good, and the story has merits that we cannot ignore or minimize. It's one of those delicious movies to watch, that leaves us without feeling the time that passes. We really know that guy is not a bad person, but it's not easy…

BornKnight January 2, 2024

★ 8/10

Psychological drama well in the beginning of Ben Aflleck and Matt Damon in their careers - they star (with Matt in the role of the protagonist) and wrote the script together. The director was Gus Van Sant (Drugstore Cowboy). The movie tells a story about a irish-descendant boy in Boston that works as janitor in a mathematics faculty, and it is a self-taught genius, with a troubled past and present - some mathematical riddles are left by the head of the chair in the faculty (Skarsgård) and mysteriously solved by night. Catching up with Matt Damon character Will he can be out of parole if he gets a job and consult with a psychiatrist what shows to be a tid bit tough thing. The film received positive reviews from critics and grossed over $225 million during its theatrical run against a $10 million budget, and received nominations in nine categories, including Best Picture and Best …

badelf May 17, 2026

★ 9/10

Gus Van Sant's _Good Will Hunting_ is a film that could have easily collapsed under the weight of its own ambitions: a genius janitor, a traumatized savant, a therapeutic breakthrough that changes everything. But it doesn't collapse. It works, and it works beautifully, because everyone involved understood that the story required restraint, intelligence, and performances grounded in something real. What Matt Damon and Ben Affleck achieved with their screenplay is remarkable, not just for two young actors writing their own breakout roles, but for the care they took to make the therapy at the film's center feel authentic. Van Sant's direction is nicely subdued, keeping the focus on the story rather than the technical flourishes, and the ensemble delivers across the board. This is a film about healing, and it earns every emotional beat. Will Hunting (Damon) is a self-taught mathematical g…