Why Everyone Needs to Watch Good Will Hunting- Sophia Davis

 

From the time when I first sat down and watched Good Will Hunting, it forever impacted my life and easily became my favorite movie. Directed by Gus Van Sant, it stars Matt Damon as Will Hunting, a janitor at MIT who can't realize his own potential, and Robin Williams as Sean Maguire, who is Will's therapist, and someone who forces him to grow up. A story that is realistic and heartbreaking, Good Will Hunting is a must-watch for everyone. It's a movie that involves self-growth, learning your self-worth, romance, and maturing. 

Will Hunting seems to be your average 20 year old who doesn't have a plan for life, and would rather hang out with his friends and get into fights than become something greater than he is. Loud-mouthed, abrasive, and smart, Hunting lives his simple life in Boston, moving from job to job, not exactly knowing what is in store for him next. He frequents the Harvard Bar and gets into arguments with Harvard students. His intellect allows him to easily embarrass them, as he shows them you don't need money to get an education. Late fees at the library allow him to be on par with them. 

He solves math problems on the chalkboards outside of MIT classrooms and thinks that the life he's living will satisfy him. 

That's mostly his pride talking. 

One day, after using extreme violence against a guy who used to pick on him in kindergarten, Hunting is arrested. 

Professor Gerald Lambeau, an MIT professor who saw Will write on the chalkboards, is able to track down Will. Instead of being impressed with the man who solved his math equation that took two years to solve, all he ends up seeing is a coward. A scared, cocky boy, who would rather live an unfulfilled life than work for something that's greater than himself. 

Lambeau makes a deal with Will. 

If he wants to get out of going to jail, he has to solve math problems with Lambeau.

The catch; He has to go to therapy for his childhood trauma. 

Lambeau quickly realizes that the therapists that he is sending Will to are making no progress since Will essentially tortures them until he can leave. He would rather bottle up his emotions than get help. 

Lambeau ends up going to his old college roommate, Sean Maguire, who is coincidentally a psychology professor. He asks Sean for help, who begrudgingly accepts. 

Sean helps Will to put himself into perspective and allows him to think of something other than himself for once. 

They are able to form a son and father relationship, and Sean gives Will the help he needed ever since he was young. 

Along with his blossoming romance with Skylar, a young and intensely smart woman he met at a Harvard Bar, Will starts to finally grow up. 

He realizes he's more than getting into fights, getting drunk, and using his intellect to hide his insecurities. 

Good Will Hunting is a film that teaches people that it's okay to ask for help. That it's okay to love and put your trust in people. 

That it's okay to be vulnerable. 

A highly emotional film, I would recommend this movie to anyone who wants impactful media, and a great soundtrack. (Elliot Smith!)