Session 2 film Good Will Hunting

I watched Good Will Hunting during session 2 of the course. This movie was pretty good. It has a complex story line with many different things going on. With that said there are some very simple parts of the story line as well. The movie also had good use of handling emotional material with restraint. In some dramatic moments dealing with Will Hunting (Matt Damon) and his psychiatrist (Robin Williams) the story line was a bit cheesy but, I can see the importance of the moment. Symbolism was obvious throughout the film in various scenes. A touch of irony is also present.

The titles significance is hard to pin point. I thought that it could possibly be referring to the search the Will Hunting had to find good will in others. The title could also just be referring to the characters name Will Hunting. I know that there is something behind the title but it was hard to pin point.

The story was made complex by the multitude of things going on and the connectedness of all of those things. I am referring to Matt Damon's character not just being a genius but, his tormented past, his rough friends, his fear of intimacy, and his relationship with his new girlfriend. Other characters have somewhat equal amounts of complexity as well such as Will Huntings psychiatrist played by Robin Williams. Robin was a promising young student who took a different path than his old classmate the mathematician. As a result there is some hostility between the two. Robin's character also is grieving over a lost love. His wife had dies from cancer and he had yet to fully move on.

Some of the simplicity of the film was the reasoning behind Will Huntings behaviors. He was tormented as a child and abused as a foster child. Once this is uncovered it doesn't even need to be explained by Will is the way he is. The problem and tough part is getting him to move past that. Which he is working on this Robin's character is helped as well in moving past his grief. During the sessions together emotional restraint was used very well. The characters where not sobbing messes they behaved in a manner that would be expected of a masculine man. He kept his emotions under check and didn't go overboard when expressing himself. Yes both men got emotional but, the moment was played well.

The irony I noticed in the film was that this blue collar worker with a rap sheet and disturbing past is more intelligent than the Harvard educated mathematicians. The professors were so aggravated that they couldn't figure out the math problems and it was so easy for Will. I really liked this idea. You don't need a P.h.D to be intelligent. You don't even have to be college educated.

I felt that the movie was credible because situations such as very young people or someone without a formal education are more intelligent than their opposites. I felt that the drama of Matt Damon's character made the film more interesting and also gave a reason for his hostility and unwillingness to commit.