ViewGuide

Created Jul 23, 2011 12:48AM PST • Edited Jul 23, 2011 12:48AM PST

1. Quality

2. Summary

   Perfect 5.0

   How do you like THEM apples?!

   Will Hunting (Matt Damon) is a poor young man who works as a janitor at one of the most prestigious colleges in the world. When he’s not working, he spends most of his time drinking beer and screwing around with his fellow working-class friends from South Boston. Everything suddenly changes, however, when one day Will sees a complicated mathimatical equation a local professor (Stellan Skarsgard) put up for one of his students to solve. Will solves it with the greatest of ease, and the professor sees something special in the boy. Soon many people vie for Will’s life, mind, and future, including his friends, the professor, a harvard girl (Minnie Driver), and a therapist (Robin Williams).

   What shines greatest in Good Will Hunting is the brilliant script by Damon and buddy/co-star Ben Affleck. Both of these talented young men took home Oscars for their brilliant screenplay and deservingly so. I feel that it’s a shame the two never wrote anything else together again. I would personally love to see them both write a script together and then have Affleck direct it.

   Aside from the script, the acting is just amazing! Damon brings a lot of emotion to the character of Will, and while Will is a bit of a smart ass, Damon’s wit and charm makes Will very likable. Affleck gives an underrated performance as Will’s best friend Chuckie. Driver does a commendable job as Will’s love interest, Skylar. Skarsgard is also good as the smug professor Lambeau. But the actor who steals the whole show is Robin F*cking Williams as Sean McGuire. Williams has always proved to do excellent with both comedy and drama, and here he establishes himself as one of the masters of both genres. He brings such sincerity and sadness to his character through his tone and makes you like his character even more. His performance was easily one of the most deserving of any acting oscar in history.

   Gus Van Sant’s direction is flawless in this movie. The cinematography and style to the film is just perfect. It creates just the right tone for a story such as this. He developes each of the characters well and the mood is absolutely perfect. There isn’t much else to say about Van Sant’s direction really. This film is easily his masterpiece and is one of his best moments as a filmmaker.

   I’m probably in the minority of people who believe Good Will Hunting should’ve also taken home directing and best picture oscars in addition to the other two it won. It’s a flawless masterpiece and, in my opinion, one of the very best films of the 1990’s.

4. Acting

   Perfect 5.0

5. Male Stars Perfect 5.0

6. Female Stars Perfect 5.0

7. Female Costars Perfect 5.0

8. Male Costars Perfect 5.0

10. Film

    Perfect 5.0

11. Direction Perfect 5.0

12. Play Perfect 5.0

13. Music Perfect 5.0

14. Visuals Perfect 5.0
15. Content

16. Edge

    Sordid 3.5

17. Sex Erotic 3.5

18. Violence Brutal 3.0

19. Rudeness Nasty 4.0

21. Reality

    Natural 1.0

22. Circumstantial Natural 1.0

23. Biological Natural 1.0

24. Physical Natural 1.0