Good Will Hunting Review
by Edward Champion (edchamp AT slip DOT net)December 30th, 1997
GOOD WILL HUNTING
Movie Review by Edward Champion
RATING: ***1/2 (out of four stars)
What makes a great movie? What keeps us coming back for more?
Plot? No. There are, after all, only five basic plots that, like the twelve-bar blues progression, can easily be interchanged with each other.
Visuals? Maybe. But for every great-looking, meaty movie put out, there are the BLADE RUNNERs, the TITANICs and the L'AVVENTURAs -- films that may be visually impressive but ultimately unfulfilling due to a certain lack of substance.
Character? Yes. Dimension. Quirks. Nuances.
We're talking about power. Sheer, raw, emotional power. We walk out of the theater after a visceral experience and a certain kind of battle begins between our heart and our head.
GOOD WILL HUNTING is one such movie.
But the one thing (or rather the one person) that prevents it from being the best movie of 1997 is the auteur theory. Given to film scholars by the French, the theory states that the director is God, the All-Encompassing Creator of Film. He puts his indelible stamp on a film and every other factor (script, actors, cinematography, lighting, editing) can be attributed to him. Forget all the gaffers who worked their asses off to get the lighting right for each and every shot. Never mind the actors who spent hours in their trailers trying to tap into skimpy, one-dimensional characters to give us something to chew on.
No, it is the director who has done it all -- regardless of whether he understands the material or not.
Gus Van Sant started off as a promising writer/director. He gave us fascinating worlds to experience in DRUGSTORE COWBOY and MY OWN PRIVATE IDAHO. And then he screwed up -- he made a major mistake with EVEN COWGIRLS GET THE BLUES and got severely chastised for it by both his peers and the critics.
Now one can hardly condemn a person for a mistake. We all make them, after all. But Van Sant seemed to take this seriously and stepped on board TO DIE FOR as a mere hired gun to redeem himself. The result was a good movie that, while an entertaining satire, felt more detached than any of Van Sant's other movies.
Meanwhile, two actors by the names of Matt Damon and Ben Affleck struggled for years sweating on a script, really tapping into their personal experiences in Boston. Something quasi-biographical about a math prodigy (perhaps a reference to acting?) was thrown in and the result was a story, while seen many times before, nevertheless conveys pure emotion. Great art imitating real life.
Suddenly Affleck hits the big time with CHASING AMY and Damon follows with THE RAINMAKER. Next thing you know, the Weinstein brothers are turning their heads, finally reading what these guys have come up with (now that they're hot stuff) and want to make a movie.
They recognize the personal nature of the script, they cast Damon in the title role and real-life buddy Affleck as movie buddy Affleck. To keep things even more personal (and thereby more riveting), Damon's real-life girl friend Minnie Driver is cast as movie girl friend Driver. Robin Williams is snagged to give us a refreshing dramatic role after the Disney muck he's had to roll around in, turning in his best performance since AWAKENINGS.
It's a brilliant mix. All that's needed is a director.
And therein lies GOOD WILL HUNTING's tragic flaw.
If you watch this movie, some scenes will bring tears to your eyes. You will be moved by fabulous performances by all -- an understanding of human nature, a parable about living and taking chances, an exploration of vulnerability, a self-protective egomaniac discovering himself.
Yet, at the same time, there's something unfulfilling, something distinctly -- shall we say -- rehearsed about what's occurring on the screen. Van Sant, a man who can't seem to accept personal failure, is clearly jealous of Affleck and Damon. So, in a bout of childish vengeance, he's edited the worst takes together to live up to the legendary God theory. Van Sant, however, comes across more as a deflated marshmallow -- a bitter, decrowned prince.
But, dammit, even he, with an ego the size of Napoleon, can't kill the movie completely. For as the great scenarist Ring Lardner once said, "No bad movie was ever made from a great script."
You will not remember GOOD WILL HUNTING for its direction, its visuals or even its Danny Elfman score (who also scored TO DIE FOR, which makes you wonder if Elfman's being used by Van Sant as some sort of safety cushion).
You will instead remember this film for its performance and its story. In an age of films designed around hollow CG effects, GOOD WILL HUNTING is truly refreshing with its dialogue, dimension and emotional impact.
I hope we'll see more of these films. And maybe we will, if enough writers stand up for their work.
Maybe then the parvenu directors can truly be stopped.
More on 'Good Will Hunting'...
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