Genre

Drama

Directed By

Gus Van Sant

Cast

Matt Damon, Robin Williams, Stellan Skarsgard, Ben Affleck & Minnie Driver

Plot Summary

A janitor at MIT, Will Hunting (Matt Damon) has a gift for maths that can take him light-years beyond his blue-collar roots, but to achieve his dream he must turn his back on the neighborhood and his best friend (Ben Affleck). To complicate matters, two strangers enter the equation: a washed-up shrink (Robin Williams) who starts to coach Will through his transformation, and a med student (Minnie Driver) who shows him that there can be a pretty face along with his life of the mind.

Comments

• Good story, fresh and original, worthy of its Academy Award victory in original screenplay.
• Unexpectedly good acting from Matt Damon, and anticipated in-depth performance from Robin Williams
• Like what Marty Mapes said in his review of the movie, Robin Williams is an actor who can make an audience cry just by smiling.

Memorable Quotes

Chuckie: Every morning I dream I come to pick you up and you have left.

Chuckie: You're sitting on a winning lottery ticket and you're too big of a pussy to cash it in.

Will: Does this violate the doctor-patient relationship?
Sean: Not unless you grab my ass.

Will: Why shouldn't I work for the N.S.A.? That's a tough one, but I'll give it a shot. Say I'm working at N.S.A. Somebody puts a code on my desk, something nobody else can break. So I take a shot at it and maybe I break it. And I'm real happy with myself, 'cause I did my job well. But maybe that code was the location of some rebel army in North Africa or the Middle East. Once they have that location, they bomb the village where the rebels were hiding and fifteen hundred people I never had a problem with get killed. Now the politicians are sayin', "Send in the marines to secure the area" 'cause they don't give a shit. It won't be their kid over there, gettin' shot. Just like it wasn't them when their number was called, 'cause they were pullin' a tour in the National Guard. It'll be some guy from Southie takin' shrapnel in the ass. And he comes home to find that the plant he used to work at got exported to the country he just got back from. And the guy who put the shrapnel in his ass got his old job, 'cause he'll work for fifteen cents a day and no bathroom breaks. Meanwhile my buddy from Southie realizes the only reason he was over there was so we could install a government that would sell us oil at a good price. And of course the oil companies used the skirmish to scare up oil prices so they could turn a quick buck. A cute little ancillary benefit for them but it ain't helping my buddy at two-fifty a gallon. And naturally they're takin' their sweet time bringin' the oil back, and maybe even took the liberty of hiring an alcoholic skipper who likes to drink martinis and play slalom with the icebergs, and it ain't too long 'til he hits one, spills the oil and kills all the sea life in the North Atlantic. So my buddy's out of work and he can't afford to drive, so he's got to walk to the job interviews, which sucks 'cause the schrapnel in his ass is givin' him chronic hemorroids. And meanwhile he's starvin' 'cause every time he tries to get a bite to eat the only blue plate special they're servin' is North Atlantic scrod with Quaker State. So what do I think? I'm holdin' out for somethin' better. Why not just shoot my buddy, take his job and give it to his sworn enemy, hike up gas prices, bomb a village, club a baby seal, hit the hash pipe and join the National Guard? I could be elected president.

Will: You wasted $150,000 on an education you could have got for $1.50 in late fees at the public library.

Sean: She is not perfect. You are not perfect. The question is whether or not you are perfect for each other.

Awards Won

Oscars (1998)

Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen

- Ben Affleck, Matt Damon

Best Supporting Actor

 - Robin Williams

Berlin International Film Festival (1998)

Silver Berlin Bear

 Outstanding Single Achievement (Matt Damon)
For his screenwriting and acting in the film

Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards (1998)

Florida Film Critics Circle Awards (1998)

Golden Globes (1998)

Best Screenplay - Motion Picture
Ben Affleck, Matt Damon

Golden Satellite Awards (1998)

Best Motion Picture Screenplay - Original
Ben Affleck, Matt Damon

National Board of Review, USA (1998)

NBR Award

Special Achievement in Filmmaking
Ben Affleck, Matt Damon

Screen Actors Guild Awards (1998)

SAG Award

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role
- Robin Williams

Trailer

  Download from CNN Network

Recommended Link

 Official Site from Miranmax