Towering performance by Matt Damon as a troubled working class who needs to address his creative genius elevates this drama way above its therapeutic approach, resulting in a zeitgeist film that may touch chord with young viewers the way The Graduate did
Good Will Hunting (1997)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted: 58
Fresh: 56
Rotten:2
Average Rating: 8.1/10
Consensus: Van Sant, working from Affleck and Damon's script, lends warmth and real emotion to the film's somewhat basic story.
Runtime: 2 hrs 6 mins
Genre: Dramas
Synopsis: A South Boston whiz kid elects to clean the halls of learning rather than enter them, slumming his way through life as a janitor at MIT. But his natural ability to unravel complex equations attracts the attention of a professor who won't let... A South Boston whiz kid elects to clean the halls of learning rather than enter them, slumming his way through life as a janitor at MIT. But his natural ability to unravel complex equations attracts the attention of a professor who won't let him quit, a beautiful Harvard student who wants to save him, a sympathetic buddy who wants him to escape South Boston, and a counselor who encourages him. A soundly acclaimed, homegrown effort from lifelong Boston buddies Damon and Affleck, who pushed their script through development by disguising it as a suspense thriller. [More]
Starring: Matt Damon, Robin Williams, Ben Affleck, Minnie Driver
Starring: Matt Damon, Robin Williams, Ben Affleck, Minnie Driver, Stellan Skarsgaard, Casey Affleck, Cole Hauser, John Mighton, Rachel Majowski, Colleen McCauley, Alison Folland, George Plimpton
Director: Gus Van Sant
Director: Gus Van Sant
Screenwriter: Ben Affleck, Matt Damon
Composer: Danny Elfman
Producer: Lawrence Bender
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Release:
Jan 5, 1999
Reviews for Good Will Hunting
Despite its coarse exterior, Good Will Hunting proves to be a rather positive and motivational experience.
Can get overly sentimental at times, but Gus Van Sant's sensitive direction... and his excellent use of the city make it a hugely entertaining and effective film.
The film succeeds not because of an overall arc, but as a chain of smaller moments that glimmer in their minuscule perfection.
For the first time in his career, Van Sant is invisible as a filmmaker, simply getting out of the way of the story and his performers. The film is richer for it.
... beneath their arrogance and crass behavior, you'll find a lot of hurt and many defense mechanisms raised against a compassionless, manipulative society.
Uno sale del cine y se da cuenta de por qué la película recibió tanta atención.
Though the movie tells a straightforward story, there are enough offbeat touches along the way to balance out its more predictable aspects.
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