There are few movies with broad name recognition that have not been reviewed by The Legionnaire.  There are two from the American Film Institute’s (AFI) list of the 100 Greatest American Films of All Time that I have not covered: Gone with the Wind (1939) and The Godfather (1972).  I have seen those two before, but have been saving addressing them for a milestone moment in this blog’s history.  Momentous occasions demand momentous topics, or at least that is as far as my thinking goes.  Until then, I thought I would turn to a title that (one might say incredibly) I have never seen, but about which I have heard plenty.  Yes, it is everyone’s favorite South Boston, Irish Catholic prodigy, Good Will Hunting (1997).

You would not know this night time janitor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is Good Will Hunting (Matt Damon), or that anyone would describe him as such, from the beginning.  Indeed, the real star at the outset is Fields Medal winning mathematician (basically, the Nobel Prize for math), Professor Gerald Lambeau (Stellan Skarsgård).  He is one of the top faculty at MIT and knows it.  To challenge his students, he posts what he believes to be a practically unsolvable problem on the chalkboard outside his classroom, telling them that there will be an award for anyone who solves it.  Of course, the last person he expects to come up with the answer is the guys cleaning the floors.  Professor Lambeau would be even more surprised if he knew what else Will had been up to that night aside from scrawling out the correct figures on the board.  In addition to drinking with his South Boston (“Southie”) friends, the next morning he gets into a random fight with some guys wandering the neighborhood who they do not know.  Will and the others are arrested, though it is he who faces the most scrutiny.  In addition to having to be pulled off his victim, he also has a brief scuffle with the arresting officer, and there is his previous criminal record to consider.  By this point, Professor Lambeau has ascertained Will’s identity and is present for the young man’s hearing, where it is also revealed that Will had been raised, and abused, in foster care.  Will could be facing some time behind bars, but he still has the wherewithal to call Skylar (Minnie Driver), the Harvard student he met the other night at the bar.  It is Professor Lambeau that makes Will’s request to see Skylar again possible when the mathematician arranges for the Southie kid released.  There are conditions, though, such as having to meet with Professor Lambeau a few times a week, and seeing a mental health professional.  Because Professor Lambeau is eager to tap into Will’s brilliant mind, the MIT faculty member makes all the arrangements.  It is seeing a mental health professional that Will resists the most, insisting that he does not need such help.  He is also too smart for his own good, able to see through the techniques the various psychiatrists employ because he had read all their books.  Not wanting to give up, Professor Lambeau turns to somebody he has not talked to in some time: his former college roommate and friend, Dr. Sean Maguire (Robin Williams).  Though Dr. Maguire does not have as prestigious an academic calling card as Professor Lambeau, the former does have the distinction of being from the same neighborhood as Will.  Still, in their first meeting, Will goes into it with the same cocky attitude as he had with the others, deconstructing Dr. Maguire’s entire life from looking at an amateur painting done by the therapist.  Dr. Maguire is taken aback by Will’s remarks, particularly when the subject of Dr. Maguire’s dead wife is broached, and their session ends with violence and threats.  Nonetheless, Dr. Maguire agrees to see Will again, spending the intervening time thinking of what next to say.  When that time comes, Dr. Maguire points out the obvious: that Will uses his incredible intelligence to keep people at a distance.  It is the first time anyone had made such an insight with Will, and he considers the words.  It leads to him taking his first shot on someone else in getting into a relationship with Skylar.  Still, there are aspects of his life that he is hesitant to share with her.  An example is the fact that he is an orphan, which he covers by saying that he has twelve older brothers.  It takes her insisting to see his friends for him to agree to that level of intimacy.  For the moment, things seem to be working.  What changes is when Professor Lambeau begins insisting that Will take interviews for jobs.  When Will sends his best friend from childhood, Chuckie Sullivan (Ben Affleck), to meet with representatives of a prospective company for him, Professor Lambeau is not happy.  Neither is Skylar.  With her imminent departure for medical school at Stanford in California approaching, she asks that Will come with her.  For all his genius, he cannot see himself as anything other than a Southie reject, and is too afraid to go anywhere else.  This is a sentiment shared by Dr. Maguire in another scene.  Hence, Will tells Skylar that he does not love her and leaves.  Eventually, it is Chuckie that gets through to Will.  As they are on break from a menial construction job, Chuckie asks Will about Skylar.  Will says she is gone, and Chuckie wonders what his friend will next do.  Will shrugs and indicates that he will keep on working.  Respectfully, Chuckie says Will is an idiot, and that he will beat up the prodigy if he is still laboring on construction sites in twenty years.  With that in mind, Will goes back to Dr. Maguire to mend their shaken relationship, it being the conclusion of their time together.  Will then drops a note in Dr. Maguire’s mailbox suggesting that he has left for California to rekindle his romance with Skylar.

I would have liked to have seen Good Will Hunting reunited with Skylar at the end, but that is my only complaint.  I am a romantic and enjoyed seeing their relationship unfold, even if there was some inappropriateness that I would rather see them avoid.  So much for that Irish Catholic upbringing, though he did continue to wear a Crucifix around his neck.  It is through that symbol that I find an interesting parallel between Our Savior who died on a Cross and Will.  There are each unexpected figures.  Just like Professor Lambeau did not think a janitor could be such a gifted mathematician, the Israelites thought the Messiah would come to them in a different way.  The Israelites wanted a King who would lead them against their oppressors, which they got, just not in the form of a ruler.  Jesus’ Kingship is confirmed by His Father, but not necessarily of the Earthly variety like His predecessor, David.  Further, Jesus’ humble origins, like Will’s, can be found in other places throughout Catholic History.  There is St. Augustine, for example, who lived the kind of life that would be somewhat familiar to the Southie denizens, only to become one of the most famous saints in Christianity.  On the other side of the spectrum is St. Bernadette Soubirous.  She was a barely literate peasant girl who lived in mid-nineteenth century Southern France, yet the Virgin Mary appeared to her over the course of a few weeks.  Given her background and intelligence, no one would believe the Mother of Mary would deign to speak to her.  What these instances underscore, including Will, is that God can use anyone to accomplish His will, no pun intended.  It is all about using the gifts He gives you, and not saying no to them.  There is no explanation for why God makes one person see Mary, and another to be able to do math with just a glance.  We are all imperfect vessels for His love, but by coming to know what He has done for us, we can achieve remarkable things.

Then again, Good Will Hunting is not solely about achievement.  Instead, it is about finding that which brings you joy.  For Will, that is Skylar, but who knows?  Perhaps when he gets to California, in addition to being with the woman he loves, he makes a positive mark on the world.  The main thing is relationship, with God and each other, and that is the main focus of the film.  It is also why I recommend it.