© Miramax.All Rights Reserved.

© Miramax.All Rights Reserved.

It is a troubling, but generally accepted reality, that abuse experienced in childhood leaves a lasting imprint on the abused. As this movie reveals, no matter how gifted the abused individual may be, his capabilities cannot insulate him from the influence of such profound abuse.

Will Hunting is a young man on a collision course with self-created disaster. We see many males like Will in jail. A young adult with an incredible brilliant mind, his talents are used for no consequence, except at times, to act out his self-consuming anger. Like so many, Will puts up walls to keep others from getting too close and from really knowing him. He’s got a short fuse and is dangerous because he will act out his anger with no regard for the consequences. He also resists help and finds ways to humiliate those who he is forced to see for that help. This shouldn’t be surprising. To let anyone really know him would put him in danger of being abused and hurt again. Will Hunting is a person who does not know who to trust or how to love because those who were suppose to love him and to teach him trust taught him hatred and mistrust instead.

What might appear to be a puzzling paradox to many is that people like Will are most angry at themselves, yet express that anger at others, often directing it toward those who care about them the most. The target of that rage often feels abused (because they are being abused) and hated by their assailant. They in turn come to dislike, even despise the person abusing them and often retaliate in some way. The consequence is the key to the paradox. By directing his anger on others, a person like Will is setting himself up to be treated in a way that he "deserves." The others react by projecting the anger back at him. Will and others like him will not get ahead, find peace of mind, or break away from the ugliness of the past unless they allow themselves to be helped. That means more than wanting to be helped. It also means believing that there is something that will make a difference, that there is a reason to want to be different.

Good Will Hunting is the story of how someone is finally able to connect with Will, confront his manipulations, and help him exorcize some of his personal demons. The movie shows that it isn’t enough to care for Will or to want to help. Even understanding what makes him tick or seeing that he is capable of doing so much more with his life doesn’t make a difference. No, there is much more. There must be a personal connection, an earned level of respect, a willingness to confront Will’s game playing, an ability to listen, and finally, when it is finally safe for Will, the willingness to speak of the past.

There have been few films as honest about psychotherapy as Good Will Hunting. But to say the movie is only about therapy is a mistake. It is about how a young man finally becomes free enough with himself to begin living in the present, to see a future, and not to be caught in the past.

Available from Buena Vista Home Video
Rated R by M.P.A.A.

© Miramax.All Rights Reserved.

© Miramax.All Rights Reserved.

© Miramax.All Rights Reserved.