Good Will Hunting (1997)

"He's hot!" - Robin Williams referring to Matt Damon on "Oprah"

"Good Will Hunting" is the best Gus Van Sant film to date. Maybe it's because it treads almost exclusively in the territory of men. There is more male bonding and more male angst per frame here than in almost any other film since the 70's. The central figure, an abused, quiet, guarded, frustrated, bitter, and stoic young man is also a genius and a rebel. And while the ground on which the plot treads here is not exactly brand new ground, it is the first time in quite a while we've seen so much openness and so much truth.

Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, two actors who have appeared in two other movies together, wrote the script here. Damon gives himself the lead while Affleck takes a turn as the best friend. Meanwhile, the duo is joined by Robin Williams as a therapist, Stellan Skarsgard as a math professor, Minnie Driver as the love interest and Casey Affleck and Cole Hauser as the rest of their clique. But the true focus here is on Damon and Williams as patient and therapist who inch their way, ever so slowly, towards mental health.

Van Sant's touch is brilliant. Returning, in a way, to the grainy, realistic look of "Drugstore Cowboy," the director breathes air into the proceedings. His camera almost always moves yet Van Sant's touch is almost unnoticeable. He lets the drama unfold for us while making sure that the look, the sets, the feelings, the props and the characters are all truthful. Cinematographer Jean-Yves Escoffier's camera circles around the characters yet never seems to intrude on their "space." Meanwhile, the cluttered sets, rusted cars and wood-grain bars of the character's lives are brought to us in natural light. It looks great. It looks real. Maybe this is the film's greatest attribute, it's verisimilitude.

Part of this plausibility is the graceful and natural beauty of Damon. He's attractive without being modelesque. Van Sant shows him, freckles and all, and we are enamoured. His cocky assurance masking deep vulnerability only makes us care for him more and as Damon peels away the layers of his character. In ever so perfectly plotted moments, we come to see the shining pearl of his oyster. When the film ends, he is truth. He is beauty. He is whole.

Van Sant colors this emotional drama with a wonderful score by Danny Elfman. Distancing himself from his previous work for Tim Burton and others, Elfman's subtle and airy score is the perfect accompaniment for Van Sant's visuals. When songs by Elliot Smith and a few others fill up the score, the film easily reminds one of "The Graduate," although the coming-of-age tale here has the hero confronting his own demons, and not those of a former generation.

"Good Will Hunting" is a quiet and affecting piece. It shows us the hard shell of a young man and then slowly peels away the layers to find the true man underneath. It shows us how this evolution can affect all of those around him in positive ways. It shows us the true nature of men and their relationships. It's interesting that this was done, seemingly effortlessly, by a script from two 20-somethings directed by an openly gay man.

Note:

Also with George Plimpton. Harmony Korine worked on some of the dialogue.

Producers include Kevin Smith and Lawrence Bender.

How did Van Sant come to direct this piece? One wonders if a relationship between he and Ben came out of Van Sant using Casey in "To Die For."

Damon and Affleck have appeared together in "Chasing Amy" (Directed by Smith), and "School Ties," after "Hunting" they worked together in a film called "Dogma."

Soundtrack includes Starland Vocal Band, The Waterboys, Dandy Warhols, Jeb Loy Nichols, Luscious Jackson and Gerry Rafferty.

The film is "Dedicated to Allen Ginsburgh & Williams S. Burroughs." The latter appeared in Van Sant's "Drugstore Cowboy." Both died within a few months prior to the film's release.

Review written in 1998

Report Card

Script: A-

Acting: A+

Cinematography\Lighting: A+

Special Effects\Make Up: A+

Music: A

Final Grade: A