Good Will Hunting (1997)
TOMATOMETER
AUDIENCE SCORE
Critic Consensus: It follows a predictable narrative arc, but Good Will Hunting adds enough quirks to the journey -- and is loaded with enough powerful performances -- that it remains an entertaining, emotionally rich drama.
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Cast
as Will Hunting
as Sean McGuire
as Chuckie
as Skylar
as Prof. Gerald Lambeau
as Morgan
as Billy
as Tom
as Krystyn
as Cathy
as Carmine Scarpaglia
as Lydia
as Clark
as Barbershop Quartet No. 1
as Barbershop Quartet No. 2
as Barbershop Quartet No. 3
as Barbershop Quartet No. 4
as MIT Student
as MIT Student
as MIT Student
as Girl on Street
as Carmine Friend No. 1
as Head Custodian
as Marty/Assistant Custodian
as Courtroom Guard
as Judge Malone
as Prosecutor
as Court Officer
as Psychologist
as Hypnotist
as Bunker Hill College Student
as Bunker Hill College Student
as Toy Store Cashier
as MIT Professor
as Timmy
as Executive No. 1
as Executive No. 2
as Executive No. 3
as NSA Agent
as 2nd NSA Agent
as Security Guard
News & Interviews for Good Will Hunting
Critic Reviews for Good Will Hunting
All Critics (71) | Top Critics (17) | Fresh (69) | Rotten (2) | DVD (4)
The best thing about Good Will Hunting is not in its well-crafted, psychological symmetries but in the just-plain messiness of its humanity. It's rowdy, it's funny, it's heartbreaking - it rings of life.
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
The film works as a character-driven narrative because Mr. Van Sant and his co-screenwriters are not afraid to unlock the psychological mysteries of their five major characters with clear and concise dialogue.
It's acted and directed with care, and Damon is outstanding, his scenes with Driver being especially sparky.
While the charismatic performances of Damon and Affleck make "Good Will Hunting" a difficult entertainment to resist, doing just that is not as hard as the film would like to think.
Good Will Hunting narrowly avoids many sentimental pitfalls thanks to what doesn't happen...
Audience Reviews for Good Will Hunting
A heartfelt and deeply honest drama with great performances and an excellent script written by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck that doesn't even let us notice how attached to the characters we become - and I guess we can all forgive it for that sentimental "it's not your fault" scene.
Super Reviewer
Starts off strong but lags towards the end
Super Reviewer
An original story concerning a janitor (Matt Damon) who works at MIT, before he is discovered by an arrogant professor (Stellan Skarsgard) after he solves a theorem only a handful of people in the world can figure out. This leads to an unstable but always interesting partnership of the two, which eventually develops into a raw relationship between the young man and the professor's former roommate (Robin Williams), who is a psychiatrist. This is a very well done film, due in large part to the screenplay, which is simply sensational, as well as the overall solid acting, led by Damon, Driver, and the always versatile Williams. Van Sant does an outstanding job capturing the atmosphere of Boston, and implements this backdrop into a tale of human emotion and uncovering brilliance in the most unlikely of situations.
Super Reviewer
Good Will Hunting Quotes
| Sean McGuire: | It's not your fault. |
| Will Hunting: | I know... |
| Sean McGuire: | No, you don't. It's not your fault. |
| Will Hunting: | I know. |
| Sean McGuire: | No, listen to me, son. It's not your fault. |
| Will Hunting: | I know that. |
| Will Hunting: | ... |
| Will Hunting: | Don't fuck with me, Sean. Not you. |
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