Good Will Hunting

Chapter 3 of the text focuses on the elements of a good story. It raises the question about what makes a story good. The movie "Good Will Hunting," is structured around a central character and has a unified plot. The movie has continuous action and as a viewer, I felt that it has somewhat of a predictable ending. "Though the movie tells a straightforward story, there are enough offbeat touches along the way to balance out its more predictable aspects"; this quote from Rotten Tomatoes really captured my thoughts about the somewhat predictable ending. However, the action in this movie was not necessarily physical activities such as fighting or chasing as the book mentions. It is very emotional at times and psychologically based. It kept me interested with the varying emotional scenes, including what I thought was a definite climax in the movie towards the end. The scene I am referring to is when Dr. Maguire finally gets through to Will and makes him realize that all of what he went through as a child was not his fault. Will finally realizes that it was time to take control of his own life and face his internal struggles. I think Matt Damon did a great job of projecting the qualities of his character and immersing himself into the role of a person with so much internal conflict. The dialogue is graphic and some viewers would argue that it could be offensive at times, but I felt it is what makes the movie. I feel it reveals alot about the characters in the movie and their personalities. It also makes the movie credible because this is how real life can be for some people. This element of credibility also contributes to making a successful story. Another aspect that the book touches on is the significance of the movie title. It wasn't until the end of the story that I understood the meaning behind the title. In the article "Too smart for their own good," there is alot of discussion about being good, what comprises being good, getting good grades, landing a good job, and getting into a good school. All these "good" things are measurements of success by society. Will Hunting, because of his abused childhood, had suppressed his good, if not great, academic abilties. Will is a good person, therefore came the appropriate title. My opinion on "Good Will Hunting," is that it is one of the better movies I've seen and I really enjoyed it. Movies that make me reflect on characters and themes are definitely worth while. Additionally, movies with strong elements and storylines such as this tend to grip their viewers and keep them interested til the very end. The different emotions I experienced are a testimony of a movies value. (I still think Titanic was deserving of its academy awards, otherwise I wouldn't have seen it in theaters four times).