SOME PEOPLE CAN NEVER BELIEVE IN THEMSELVES, UNTIL SOMEONE BELIEVES IN THEM.
A professor and a therapist (Stellan Skarsgård, Robin Williams) try to make a twenty-year-old janitor (Matt Damon) at MIT realize that his brilliant mind should not be wasted. The drama that made Damon and Ben Affleck into household names in Hollywood became a huge hit, even though the story never reaches any considerable depths. Overrated, but well directed and engaging as a portrait of a young man who will do anything to hide behind a wall of bullshit. Damon is convincing, and Williams is very good as the psychologist whose intense grief makes him walk a tightrope over an abyss.
1997-U.S. 126 min. Color. Directed by Gus Van Sant. Screenplay: Matt Damon, Ben Affleck. Cast: Matt Damon (Will Hunting), Robin Williams (Sean Maguire), Ben Affleck (Chuckie Sullivan), Minnie Driver, Stellan Skarsgård, Casey Affleck.
Trivia: Co-executive produced by Kevin Smith.
Oscars: Best Supporting Actor (Williams), Original Screenplay. Golden Globe: Best Screenplay.