Good
Will Hunting, 1997 Drama
An old write up. As a farewell to an extremely talented artiste who, despite his inner demons and the dark shadows of the black dog that haunted a good portion of his life, still came out tops as a world class entertainer. For the children of the 70s and 80s, Robin Williams was just part of our exposure to the world of comedy, starting with 'Mork and Mindy' to 'Mrs Doubtfire' to 'Good Will Hunting' to 'Dead Poet's Society' to 'Jumanji' and beyond. RIP.
This multiple award winning film is a heart wrenching saga of a gifted individual trapped in the conundrum of poverty, unsavoury upbringing and living environment that stunts his personal development.
It is set in Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston where Will Hunting (Matt Damon), the protagonist is a janitor. He is also a prodigy who has a photographic memory who enjoys reading and learning multiple subjects. Unfortunately, his fate of being born in a dysfunctional to an alcoholic abusive father erased the chances of his ability being discovered and nurtured. He is living in the wrong side of the city, moving with simple minded friends who are more interested in getting drunk and bedding girls. Will had got into the wrong side of the law on numeral occasions.
Professor Gerald Lambeau is a mathematics professor who enjoys pasting difficult mind boggling mathematics questions on the board in the corridors for his students to solve. Will, the janitor, is found to be solving these extremely difficult questions and Professor decides to go on a crusade to turn Will useful for the world to benefit from his Godly gift.
As Will is behind bars when the good Professor found him, he made a deal with the presiding judge to be his guarantor and engage a therapist for the young man to reform. Professor discovers his true genius in solving Mathematic equations but prove too cocky and slippery to the liking of many regular psychiatrists.
Finally, the Professor approaches his old roommate, Dr Sean Maguire (Robin Williams), a psychology lecturer in a community college. He has his own baggage. 2 years after losing his wife to cancer, he is still living in her memory and shuns fame and limelight. Sean agrees to counsel Will, after realizing that Will and he had similar family background. After a couple of stormy sessions, he managed to have a breakthrough, talking about common interest like baseball and the demise of his wife.
In the meantime, in midst of his work in MIT and therapy sessions, Will is romantically linked with a rich MIT student, Skylar, who is studying to be a doctor. Will’s tumultuous childhood impedes his commitment to a steady long term relationship with her. The Professor’s numerous attempts to get Will into a permanent job proved futile due to Will’s disinterest. He does not see the meaning of doing all these but rather enjoys his time with his simple minded friends. It came to a point that he leaves therapy sessions, ends his romantic relationship and be absent from his MIT work.
It is when he started working as a construction worker that his friend (Ben Affleck) realizes that he has an asset that is enviable. His friend confides that he is jealous of Will’s ability and would trade places with anytime to enjoy the good life.
Will returns to a ground breaking therapy where the therapist and patient discover that they were both victims of child abuse. Will starts his new job and drives to California to rekindle his lost romance in Skylar.
‘Good Will Hunting’ tells us how a child with improper upbringing fails to achieve his true potential. Like Mozart and Einstein, children with special gifts need to be discovered and encouraged. If everyday living is a struggle, their interest would be channeled negatively through defence mechanisms that focus on short term enjoyment and escapism. The world would be at a loss of these geniuses. It is not a matter of telling these prodigies of their shortcomings and making them realize of their assets, they need to be tackled appropriately. Change must come from within themselves. No amount of nagging and pushing is going to turn the other side.
An old write up. As a farewell to an extremely talented artiste who, despite his inner demons and the dark shadows of the black dog that haunted a good portion of his life, still came out tops as a world class entertainer. For the children of the 70s and 80s, Robin Williams was just part of our exposure to the world of comedy, starting with 'Mork and Mindy' to 'Mrs Doubtfire' to 'Good Will Hunting' to 'Dead Poet's Society' to 'Jumanji' and beyond. RIP.
This multiple award winning film is a heart wrenching saga of a gifted individual trapped in the conundrum of poverty, unsavoury upbringing and living environment that stunts his personal development.
It is set in Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston where Will Hunting (Matt Damon), the protagonist is a janitor. He is also a prodigy who has a photographic memory who enjoys reading and learning multiple subjects. Unfortunately, his fate of being born in a dysfunctional to an alcoholic abusive father erased the chances of his ability being discovered and nurtured. He is living in the wrong side of the city, moving with simple minded friends who are more interested in getting drunk and bedding girls. Will had got into the wrong side of the law on numeral occasions.
Professor Gerald Lambeau is a mathematics professor who enjoys pasting difficult mind boggling mathematics questions on the board in the corridors for his students to solve. Will, the janitor, is found to be solving these extremely difficult questions and Professor decides to go on a crusade to turn Will useful for the world to benefit from his Godly gift.
As Will is behind bars when the good Professor found him, he made a deal with the presiding judge to be his guarantor and engage a therapist for the young man to reform. Professor discovers his true genius in solving Mathematic equations but prove too cocky and slippery to the liking of many regular psychiatrists.
Finally, the Professor approaches his old roommate, Dr Sean Maguire (Robin Williams), a psychology lecturer in a community college. He has his own baggage. 2 years after losing his wife to cancer, he is still living in her memory and shuns fame and limelight. Sean agrees to counsel Will, after realizing that Will and he had similar family background. After a couple of stormy sessions, he managed to have a breakthrough, talking about common interest like baseball and the demise of his wife.
In the meantime, in midst of his work in MIT and therapy sessions, Will is romantically linked with a rich MIT student, Skylar, who is studying to be a doctor. Will’s tumultuous childhood impedes his commitment to a steady long term relationship with her. The Professor’s numerous attempts to get Will into a permanent job proved futile due to Will’s disinterest. He does not see the meaning of doing all these but rather enjoys his time with his simple minded friends. It came to a point that he leaves therapy sessions, ends his romantic relationship and be absent from his MIT work.
It is when he started working as a construction worker that his friend (Ben Affleck) realizes that he has an asset that is enviable. His friend confides that he is jealous of Will’s ability and would trade places with anytime to enjoy the good life.
Will returns to a ground breaking therapy where the therapist and patient discover that they were both victims of child abuse. Will starts his new job and drives to California to rekindle his lost romance in Skylar.
‘Good Will Hunting’ tells us how a child with improper upbringing fails to achieve his true potential. Like Mozart and Einstein, children with special gifts need to be discovered and encouraged. If everyday living is a struggle, their interest would be channeled negatively through defence mechanisms that focus on short term enjoyment and escapism. The world would be at a loss of these geniuses. It is not a matter of telling these prodigies of their shortcomings and making them realize of their assets, they need to be tackled appropriately. Change must come from within themselves. No amount of nagging and pushing is going to turn the other side.
Comments
Post a Comment