"Good Will Hunting"

"Good Will Hunting" is the story of a young man tries to find his place in life. As an abused foster child, Will's philosophy on life has become hurting other people before they can hurt him. Will is a math genius and he knows it. Because of this and his ability to read people like a book, he hides behind the idea that he is perfect and that he has everyone figured out, besides himself.

This film relates to the text in many different ways. The first is the fact that the film "Good Will Hunting" is a credible story because it relates to externally observable truths and the way things really are. The director of this movie in no way sugar-coats the life of Will. Director Van Sant has no problem telling the viewers how it really is. He realizes that no one has a perfect life, so why try to tell a story that overlooks the truth. The truth is that Will is a man scarred from abuse as a child and is hiding from the world in fear that he'll be hurt again.

Another element to a good story pointed out in the text is that a good movie should be interesting, either with suspense or action. In the film "Good Will Hunting" action is used in both external and internal ways. The external action takes place in Sean's office as well as in Skylar's dorm room, when Will uses force or yelling to get his points across. The internal action takes place within Will's soul. He has a constant battle going on inside him, one part of him wants to stay as far away from others as possible, both physically and mentally, and the other side of him just wants someone to love and care for him, something he has never experienced before in his life. But again, he is afraid that if he does let Skylar in, he will only end up getting hurt in the end. Another reason why the theme of "Gool Will Hunting" is fear.

I had not watched "Good Will Hunting" before this assignment. Before I had even watched the movie, I thought that the title "Good Will Hunting" was refering to a search for good will. It wasn't untill I got into the movie that I realized that the main character's name was Will Hunting. I then realized that the title has a double meaning. The title refers to the fact that dispite all his issues, Will Hunting was a good man. The title also refers to the fact that the main character is on a never ending search for good will.

The ending of the film is also significant. Toward the end of the movie is the scene of Skylar at the airport. She frantically looks around for Will hoping that he had changed his mind and he would be there at the aiport with her. She hesitantly gets on the plane after she realizes that Will is not there. It then shows Will outside sitting on a bench and watches Skylar's plane take off. This scene refers to the fact that both Will and Skylar want to be together, but they know that they can't. At the very end of the film after an intensive last session with Sean, Will realizes what he had with Skylar. Before he leaves Boston to follow Skylar, he stops by Sean's place and drops a note in his mailbox saying that he "has to go see about a girl." This line is a parallel to what Sean told his friends when he met the love of his life. The director uses this line to tell the audience that Will has finally realized that, like Sean, he has found the love of his life.

The film "Good Will Hunting" also contains a lot of symbolism. A few symbolic references that stood out to me was the use of colors throughout the film. Everything that refers to Will is orange, which is the color of energy and change. This color references the constant confilct going on within Will and also his need for change. Throughout the movie, Sean wears nothing but warm and neutral colors. This could reference the feeling of peace and serenity that Will feels when he's with Sean. Another symbolic reference that I picked up on is the fact that whenever you see the professor, he is always wearing the same scarf. This could represent the wrap, the control he has over Will and his future. However, after Will overhears Sean protecting him in a heated argument with the professor, he realizes that the professor does not have Will's best interests at heart. Maybe this is why in the scene where Will burns his math work, this is the only scene in the movie where he is not wearing his scarf, because he realizes that he has no control over Will anymore.

"Good Will Hunting" is a classic story of a neverending struggle for truth. It's symbolism, conficts, and interesting plot line are what make this movie a truly great film.