Good Example Of Good Will Hunting: An Evaluation Essay

Good will hunting was a masterpiece from Gus Van Sant. Amazingly, the screenplay of this movie is from the actor duo matt Damon and Ben Affleck. This was their debut as writers and surprisingly, they have done a marvelous job as writers. Thinking about 1997 and 2015, the time has changed a lot of things in film-making business as well as education business; but the basis of quality education and gifted genius remains same. This movie tells the story of a mathematical genius with a bad temper and tormented childhood. It is not only a story of Will alone, but it also spreads light o amazingly beautiful characters of equally talented professor and therapist of Will played by Robin Williams. What he portrayed in is character of a destroyed husband and a genius who made a mistake of wasting his potential; is something extraordinary. This paper will talk about the choices that a person makes in life with the history of saddened past or childhood experiences. This paper will also justify through various examples from the movie and its characters about the psychological effects of past and personal experiences in the intelligence and future of an individual.
It is a dream of Chuck, who is the best friend of Will to come to his friend’s house one day to call him for work, only to find that he was gone forever. The neighborhood in which these two kids were born and brought up was not the kind of society that produces Harvard Professors or Nobel winning mathematicians. This was a neighborhood where people like Will indulges into street fights with local gangs to end up either dead or to gets arrested and sent for public services if they are minor or to jail if they are adults. This is the kind of life that was not meant for Will, and his friend knew better. It happens often in society, that the people with gifted abilities have no value of gratitude for what they have. Will is one such case of misplaced faith. He blames himself for what happened to his parents. He was abused as a child. Even though with his talent, there was no one to understand him or nurture his abilities. Such unfairness have very deep seated damages to a child’s psychology.
A diamond can hid behind all the coals, but it cannot hide its shine from the eye of a seeker. Similarly, the MIT mathematics professor gets astonished by the work of a janitor, who solved his unsolvable puzzle that nobody in the whole MIT could solve. He found this genius of a boy scribbling mathematical formulae like a child’s doodles in a picture book. Such ease of mind in solving greatest puzzles of mathematics can come only from a highly gifted mind. The professor knew this well enough to find him and provide him what he needed.
The story tells a lot about the social system of the country, how young children who are having potential to do many things in life gets shut down by their parents or the system. It is not easy to watch the potential of such children whose minds are like empty slates go to a waste. These empty slated are pure and incorruptible. These slates can be filled with a lot of knowledge. Imagine what a single mind like Will can contribute in the field of mathematician. The movie sends a strong message to the system of this country to divert their focus on such areas of child psychology.
People like Will usually live through their whole life without a second of realization about their potential. The loss that a civilization faces when such a mind goes without any contribution is unfathomable. Unfortunately, such minds have no care for the growth and development of the country, they don’t care for the economy, or career, family, relationships, politics or anything for that matters. They only live in present, they only care for the things that they like to do. These are not the kind of people that goes to universities showcasing their CVs for a job in NSA or white house. These are the people who remains behind the curtains of some of the biggest inventions of the century. The true goodness of these people hides among the shadows from the evil of the world. These are the people who have suffered enough for one lifetime. These are the people who have had felt so much pain that they are afraid to unleash their potential to the world just to avoid getting hurt again from a human being. They stay away from the bondages of society. They are free birds, no one can dare catch them and put them in a cage.
When the MIT professors is fed up of the numbers of rejected psychologists by Will, he calls in favor from his old buddy Robin Williams. He used his triumph card in the end because he knew that the two of old friends have their personal grudge on each other. Still, out of old brotherly love, Williams helps in engaging the disoriented child into therapy. Being from the same town, William makes his breakthrough in getting Will’s attention. He found his way through the layers of negativity inside Will’s mind and heart. He paved his voyage through the atrociousness entrapped inside Will’s conscious. But the task was very difficult. The layers that the professor had to peel before he reaches to the core of Will’s inner self were infinite. Somehow, he did it. Somehow, will agreed to something.
Love is complex; especially, when it comes to the love of extraordinary intelligent, socially handicapped, arrogant, mathematical genius. When a broken and injured heart gets one last shot at resurrection, and misses it due to lack of gratitude is more painful than anything on this earth. The same happens with Will Hunting. He breaks up with his first girlfriend due to his ego. His ego takes various shapes, and mostly turns up in the vivid arrogance. These are the emotions that he encounters for the first time in his life. Only a person who is from the same town as him, and understands the emotions that Will is going through sympathetically can solve his problems. Robin Williams brings life to his character on screen powered by amazing screenplay. Ben Affleck has a very insidious role to offer here in the movie. His support for the true hero the movie is relentless and unconditional. He wants the friend not to waste the undebatable abilities to make something for himself.
Will’s character takes many canyons and mountains throughout his journey in the movie. He makes some mistakes and regrets some decisions. He encounters love, respect, friendship, introspection, revelations and solace through his constant struggle with himself. This story takes the audience to the ride of inner self through the medium of some brilliant thoughtful dialogues and illustrations. According to Roger Ebert, (1997) ‘the movie is a breathtaking story of a genius who doesn’t recognize himself.’
The message from the movie is very clear for the generations to come. The message is to be grateful to the almighty if you are the recipient of his bestowed gifts, rather than to throw it away. Critical analysis of this movie and each conversation between Williams and Matt Damon in the movie forces the viewers to fall into the evaluation of self throughout the movie. When an underprivileged teenager gets a chance to be something of greater reputation, he refuses because of his inner pain and remorse. His inner struggles comes to an end when a sympathetic person becomes his mentor, and makes him realize that it wasn’t his fault. Janet Muslin, (1997) says that one of the proud moments of the movie is the walk that both the stars of the movie takes a walk in the starting scene, who are also the writers of the movie.
Will’s character is completely careless and reckless before he is discovered by the MIT professor. Will shows his negativity and deniability towards every opportunity for self-improvement he gets, but deep down he wants to be found, he wants people to know his abilities. That is the reason, he solves the math puzzle while cleaning the floor. His sub-conscious gives away his true emotions. His resent to learn anything new, refusal of job interviews, constant insults of academics and professors, are all a drama to represent his inner rage to the world. He wants to hide his potential from the world. He wants the world to suffer in the same way he suffered in his childhood. He doesn’t trust anybody, his faith in humanity or any higher purpose is long gone. He wants to punish the people around him by insulting them. He pushes away anybody who tries to get intimate with him. He is not at peace, but he doesn’t have the demands to achieve it also. He has given up, a truly lost in remorse. However, Ron=bin Williams, with his brilliant tit for tat philosophy turns him around.

Works Cited

"GOOD WILL HUNTING." Rev. Of Film, by Ebert Roger. 25 Dec. 1997: <http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/good-will-hunting-1997>.
"Good Will Hunting (1997) FILM REVIEW; Logarithms and Biorhythms Test a Young Janitor." Rev. Of Film, by JANET MASLIN. 5 Dec. 1997: <http://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9C00EFD7123DF936A35751C1A961958260>.
"Good Will Hunting, review: 'Robin Williams brings off sharpness and tenderness'." Rev. OfFilm, by Quentin Curtis. 15 Aug. 2014: <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/filmreviews/11035949/Good-Will-Hunting-review-Robin-Williams-brings-off-sharpness-and-tenderness.html>.