Sometimes in life we’re faced with the decision of between choosing what is inherently right and what is often the easy way out, or as Chuckie Sullivan (Ben Affleck) so bluntly says to his friend Will Hunting (Matt Damon) in GOOD WILL HUNTING (1997), “You’re sitting on a winning lottery ticket and you’re too much of a pussy to cash it in.”

This is the kind of honest wisdom that GOOD WILL HUNTING is filled with. Written by and starring Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, GOOD WILL HUNTING is a classic movie that every young-adult must watch at least once. The film centers on 20-year-old Will, an unrealized genius who lives in a South Boston neighborhood and works as a janitor at M.I.T, with a particular talent for mathematics–a talent so extraordinary that it can take him beyond his working-class roots. Will is taken under the academic wing of Professor Lambeau (Stellan Skarsgard), and given direction and guidance from therapist Sean MacQuire (the late Robin Williams). The intimate relationship that is formed between Sean and Will is arugably the most captivating aspect of the film, which is both comedic at times and emotional.

Will is a contradictory character of sorts—incredibly gifted but troubled, undeniably loveable but unwilling to be loved. He is caught up in the ultimate life decision of going forth and leaving his South Boston neighborhood, his best friend, and his construction job, or staying put in the place he has always known.

GOOD WILL HUNTING (1997) DIR. GUS VAN SANT [126 minutes]
9/24
4:30pm, 9:30pm
$10 General Admission // $8 Students w/ID // $7 Seniors & Children

Brattle Theatre
40 Brattle St.
Cambridge, MA 02138