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Good Will Hunting

  • 19971997
  • RR
  • 2h 6m
IMDb RATING
8.3/10
939K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
278
59
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • IMDbPro
Robin Williams and Matt Damon in Good Will Hunting (1997)
Official Trailer
Play trailer2:21
7 Videos
99+ Photos
  • Drama
  • Romance
Will Hunting, a janitor at M.I.T., has a gift for mathematics, but needs help from a psychologist to find direction in his life.Will Hunting, a janitor at M.I.T., has a gift for mathematics, but needs help from a psychologist to find direction in his life.Will Hunting, a janitor at M.I.T., has a gift for mathematics, but needs help from a psychologist to find direction in his life.
IMDb RATING
8.3/10
939K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
278
59
  • Director
    • Gus Van Sant
  • Writers
    • Matt Damon
    • Ben Affleck
  • Stars
    • Robin Williams
    • Matt Damon
    • Ben Affleck
Top credits
  • Director
    • Gus Van Sant
  • Writers
    • Matt Damon
    • Ben Affleck
  • Stars
    • Robin Williams
    • Matt Damon
    • Ben Affleck
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 1KUser reviews
    • 158Critic reviews
    • 70Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Top rated movie #82
    • Won 2 Oscars
      • 24 wins & 61 nominations total

    Videos7

    Good Will Hunting
    Trailer 2:21
    Good Will Hunting
    Good Will Hunting
    Trailer 0:33
    Good Will Hunting
    Good Will Hunting: Blu-Ray
    Trailer 2:24
    Good Will Hunting: Blu-Ray
    Essential Guide to Matt Damon
    Clip 4:48
    Essential Guide to Matt Damon
    Alphabet of Movies | A to Z
    Clip 1:33
    Alphabet of Movies | A to Z
    What Roles Was Ben Affleck Considered For?
    Video 4:10
    What Roles Was Ben Affleck Considered For?
    What Roles Has Matt Damon Turned Down?
    Video 3:27
    What Roles Has Matt Damon Turned Down?

    Photos603

    Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Casey Affleck, and Cole Hauser in Good Will Hunting (1997)
    Robin Williams and Matt Damon in Good Will Hunting (1997)
    Ben Affleck and Matt Damon in Good Will Hunting (1997)
    Matt Damon and Minnie Driver in Good Will Hunting (1997)
    Ben Affleck and Cole Hauser in Good Will Hunting (1997)
    Matt Damon in Good Will Hunting (1997)
    Matt Damon and Minnie Driver in Good Will Hunting (1997)
    Matt Damon in Good Will Hunting (1997)
    Matt Damon and Minnie Driver in Good Will Hunting (1997)
    Robin Williams and Matt Damon in Good Will Hunting (1997)
    Ben Affleck and Matt Damon in Good Will Hunting (1997)
    Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Casey Affleck, and Cole Hauser in Good Will Hunting (1997)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Robin Williams
    Robin Williams
    • Seanas Sean
    Matt Damon
    Matt Damon
    • Willas Will
    Ben Affleck
    Ben Affleck
    • Chuckieas Chuckie
    Stellan Skarsgård
    Stellan Skarsgård
    • Lambeauas Lambeau
    John Mighton
    • Tomas Tom
    Rachel Majorowski
    • Krystynas Krystyn
    Colleen McCauley
    • Cathyas Cathy
    Casey Affleck
    Casey Affleck
    • Morganas Morgan
    Cole Hauser
    Cole Hauser
    • Billyas Billy
    Matt Mercier
    Matt Mercier
    • Barbershop Quartet #1as Barbershop Quartet #1
    Ralph St. George
    • Barbershop Quartet #2as Barbershop Quartet #2
    Rob Lynds
    • Barbershop Quartet #3as Barbershop Quartet #3
    Dan Washington
    • Barbershop Quartet #4as Barbershop Quartet #4
    Alison Folland
    Alison Folland
    • M.I.T. Studentas M.I.T. Student
    Derrick Bridgeman
    • M.I.T. Studentas M.I.T. Student
    Vik Sahay
    Vik Sahay
    • M.I.T. Studentas M.I.T. Student
    • (as Vic Sahay)
    Shannon Egleson
    • Girl on Streetas Girl on Street
    Rob Lyons
    • Carmine Scarpagliaas Carmine Scarpaglia
    • Director
      • Gus Van Sant
    • Writers
      • Matt Damon
      • Ben Affleck
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
    • All cast & crew

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      In 2014, after Robin Williams died, the bench in the Boston Public Garden where he and Matt Damon had their conversation scene became an impromptu memorial site. People left flowers, quotes, and various items at the bench. A petition has been passed around to erect a statue in Williams' memory near the bench.
    • Goofs
      When Sean tells Will his wife used to fart all the time, even in her sleep, everybody laughs. The camera starts bobbing up and down twice during that dialogue. Apparently, the camera operator was laughing, too.
    • Quotes

      Sean: [sitting on a bench in in front of a pond in park] Thought about what you said to me the other day, about my painting. Stayed up half the night thinking about it. Something occurred to me... fell into a deep peaceful sleep, and haven't thought about you since. Do you know what occurred to me?

      Will: No.

      Sean: You're just a kid, you don't have the faintest idea what you're talkin' about.

      Will: Why thank you.

      Sean: It's all right. You've never been out of Boston.

      Will: Nope.

      Sean: So if I asked you about art, you'd probably give me the skinny on every art book ever written. Michelangelo, you know a lot about him. Life's work, political aspirations, him and the pope, sexual orientations, the whole works, right? But I'll bet you can't tell me what it smells like in the Sistine Chapel. You've never actually stood there and looked up at that beautiful ceiling; seen that. If I ask you about women, you'd probably give me a syllabus about your personal favorites. You may have even been laid a few times. But you can't tell me what it feels like to wake up next to a woman and feel truly happy. You're a tough kid. And I'd ask you about war, you'd probably throw Shakespeare at me, right, "once more unto the breach dear friends." But you've never been near one. You've never held your best friend's head in your lap, watch him gasp his last breath looking to you for help. I'd ask you about love, you'd probably quote me a sonnet. But you've never looked at a woman and been totally vulnerable. Known someone that could level you with her eyes, feeling like God put an angel on earth just for you. Who could rescue you from the depths of hell. And you wouldn't know what it's like to be her angel, to have that love for her, be there forever, through anything, through cancer. And you wouldn't know about sleeping sitting up in the hospital room for two months, holding her hand, because the doctors could see in your eyes, that the terms "visiting hours" don't apply to you. You don't know about real loss, 'cause it only occurs when you've loved something more than you love yourself. And I doubt you've ever dared to love anybody that much. And look at you... I don't see an intelligent, confident man... I see a cocky, scared shitless kid. But you're a genius Will. No one denies that. No one could possibly understand the depths of you. But you presume to know everything about me because you saw a painting of mine, and you ripped my fucking life apart. You're an orphan right?

      [Will nods]

      Sean: You think I know the first thing about how hard your life has been, how you feel, who you are, because I read Oliver Twist? Does that encapsulate you? Personally... I don't give a shit about all that, because you know what, I can't learn anything from you, I can't read in some fuckin' book. Unless you want to talk about you, who you are. Then I'm fascinated. I'm in. But you don't want to do that do you sport? You're terrified of what you might say. Your move, chief.

    • Crazy credits
      Throughout the end credits, Will's car is driving down the highway until the very end, when the car drives around a bend and disappears.
    • Alternate versions
      In the theatrical release, Chuckie gets angry with Morgan for using his little league baseball glove as "clean up." However in the TV version, Chuckie ends the scene with a curt "Why don't you do what you're doin' at your house." Also, when Will is with the first psychiatrist, the mention of "putting from the rough" is deleted.
    • Connections
      Featured in At the Movies: Alien Resurrection/Welcome to Sarajevo/Flubber/Public Housing/Bent (1997)
    • Soundtracks
      Big Strong Man
      Arranged by Brian Warfield

      Performed by The Wolfetones (as Wolfe Tones)

      Courtesy of Shanachie Entertainment Corp.

    User reviews1K

    Review
    Top review
    10/10
    A slow burner, a fine achievement
    Sure, this film's plot is fairly predictable. Sure, if you boiled it down to its essential components it wouldn't amount to much. Sure, Will Hunting's genius is profoundly unrealistic.

    Yet I'm giving this one 10 out of 10.

    I don't know whether Matt and Ben have ever been in therapy, but they certainly understand a lot about the human psyche, how it ducks responsibility, and pushes blame onto others, how it dismisses the real gifts it has and concentrates on running itself down. How many of us suffer from the same problems as Will? Only those who deny their own vulnerability will remain unaffected by this film.

    Not only is the script powerful, but the dynamics between the characters - all of them selfish, even Skylar - is vividly and plausibly executed. The film just about manages to avoid easy answers, preferring to acknowledge (indeed, highlight) the complexity and pain of personal growth and self-realisation.

    You could read a lot of self-help books, but they won't bring across to you as powerfully as this film what it's like to be scared, what it's like to experience loss, how difficult it is to shake off your old ways of thinking, how important honesty to yourself is. If this is the kind of revelation Matt and Ben are going to come up with, I look forward to their future efforts.

    The first time I saw it, I felt moved as the credits rolled. On my way home from the cinema, I felt sombre. When I got home, I finally burst into tears. This film burns slowly, inside you.

    As cinema, it's fair to middling. The performances are all first class. The script is a jewel. As wisdom, it's second to none. A fine achievement.
    helpful•610
    59
    • Stephen-12
    • Mar 17, 1999

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • January 9, 1998 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Official sites
      • Official Facebook
      • Official site
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Chàng Will Tốt Bụng
    • Filming locations
      • Central Tech. High School, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
    • Production companies
      • Miramax
      • Be Gentlemen Limited Partnership
      • Lawrence Bender Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $10,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $138,433,435
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $272,912
      • Dec 7, 1997
    • Gross worldwide
      • $225,933,435
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      2 hours 6 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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