Good Will Hunting

funny how you think you know a movie you've seen a dozen times over the years throughout your adolescence but haven't watched in the last 5 since you became a "real adult" (ie. hit your 40s). it's still exceptional, but it manages to hit different corners of your brain now. there's an aspect of the story that can be deceptively seductive; to take it literally, like i did when i was a kid. to have it validate a feeling that you might not live up to the potential you imagined you had or were told was real. but now, it's much more obvious, and effective, as a slightly schmaltzy parable. there are aspects of will's stubbornness and sean's wisdom that rang true for me in my twenties and still do today.  the themes are still relevant: what do you do with the cards you're dealt and how capable are you in seeing yourself through the eyes of others? is struggle noble if you stubbornly valorize it? part of my evolving perspective in this most recent rewatch is grappling with that stubbornness. is it worth maintaining that a 90s melodrama is cheesy enough to keep at a safe distance when its ultimate message is to not keep things at a distance?