Number 159 on the top 1000 films of all time is the drama Good Will Hunting.
Will (Matt Damon) is an undiscovered genius with a troubled past. Instead of putting his genius to good use, he works as a janitor for MIT. That is until Professor Gerald Lambeau (Stellan Skarsgard) recognises his potential and arranges for Will to have counselling with therapist Dr Sean Maguire (Robin Williams.) Ben Affleck co stars as Will's best friend Chuckie and Minnie Driver plays Will's love interest Skylar.
In 1994, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck were struggling to break into the acting industry. They then decided to write and star in their own film. The rest as they say is history. Damon and Affleck went onto win Oscars for writing. Affleck has since gone onto win a Best Director Oscar for Argo.
Yet the Oscars don't end there as you had the always terrific Robin Williams win Best Supporting Actor for his role as therapist Sean Maguire. Robin Williams is best known for his comedy roles but he is proven that he is equally adept at drama too. In this role, he played to both his comedic and dramatic strengths. One of the film's most famous scenes sees Maguire making Will dissolve into giggles by telling him a story about how his wife used to fart in her sleep. Matt Damon was laughing for real here as was the cameraman evidenced by how the camera shook. What made it so great was how it was unscripted.
Williams also had a great chemistry with Damon as we see Maguire become a mentor for the emotionally damaged Will. The two of them had many tender, heartfelt but also intense scenes together. Both of them were able to easily switch between comedy and drama.
Alas I cannot be so positive about Ben Affleck. I think it is very telling that he has won Oscars for writing and directing but NOT acting. I think this is because he is more wooden than your average tree. Chuckie was not an exception to this rule.
Although this is really just a minor blip in an otherwise very good film. It was funny yet dramatic with one of Robin Williams' finest performances
A great film. Amazing that Damon and Affleck could have written such a clever script. Robin Williams is wonderful. Damon seems a bit too clean cut for his role. The ending was a bit too predictable.
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