Good Will Hunting

Good Will Hunting handles a bunch of connected themes really well: pain, a rough childhood, closeness and fear, and also performance and worth. In my opinion the film hits all of it, and it uses genuinely deep dialogue to make you think it through. Everyone in this film carries baggage. Will has abandonment issues and pushes people away before they can do it to him. He is a genius, but also a phony deep down, because if you look past his sharp observations and his arrogant smart talk, you see a lonely, lost kid who can solve any math problem but cannot solve himself. Sean has an incredibly tragic story too, yet he feels like the happiest character in the film. He shows that even after dramatic experiences and loss you can keep living, keep choosing your path, and you have to accept the bad things in order to carry them. Lambeau has not fully understood that. Even though he is brilliant, it feels like he is very insecure about himself for not being as smart as others. It is less jealousy and more self hate. Chuckie and Skylar carry baggage as well, either the loss of a father or the reality of a life that will look the same for the next 30 to 40 years without any change in sight. The film also talks a lot about the worth of a person. One side believes worth only comes from big achievement, the way Lambeau sees it. Sean and Chuckie see it differently. Chuckie is not angry at Will because he is not doing something big, even though he could. He is angry because Will is running away from it. That is also Sean’s point. Being a janitor or a shepherd can still be something that gives a person more than enough worth, but only if it is what you actually want. Sean sees worth more as giving the best you can, not just being “the best,” like Lambeau does. Sean tries hard to teach Will that. Trauma does not give you the right to judge everyone or act like an asshole, but trauma is also not your fault, and it does not mean you do not deserve a good life. For me this film is incredibly well written. I wasn't sure how I was going to rate this movie but after letting it sit, letting the characters wander through my head, and thinking back to the dialogues and scenes, I honestly do not have anything to hold against it. What this film wants to say, and how it says it, is just too good. It is definitely a movie everyone should watch at least once. "You don't know about real loss, 'cause it only occurs when you've loved something more than you love yourself."