Good Will Hunting

For a movie that I grew up hearing people talk about, I always thought it was strange that I had never sat down to watch Good Will Hunting. There were certainly many opportunities for me to watch this film over the years, as it was produced in 1997, but I was never drawn toward it.
I can think of two reasons why I wasn't interested in seeing the film when growing up. The first, and probably most obvious reason, is that my parents loved it. Kids and adults don't always agree when it comes to classifying a movie as "great." The second reason, which is the most important, would be that the title of Good Will Hunting was not intriguing to me at that stage in my life. Even as I sat down to watch the film this week, I began to think about the movie's title. I figured it was going to be a film with a serious tone that teaches a valuable life lesson through some dramatic journey. And for the most part it was!

Sure one might be able to pick up a bit of information about the movie from the title, but only someone that has viewed the film can truly understand the significance of the title. One of the main characters was named Will Hunting. So does the title signify that Will Hunting was a good man?  I'd say not, based on my personal opinion of Will's moral integrity. Instead, I interpreted the film's title in two parts: "good will" and "hunting." So who was hunting for a good will? Many people were in this film. Two college professors were each doing what they thought was best to help Will, a best friend was pushing and motivating Will to use his gift of knowledge, and Will was searching for his place and what to do in this world. The title of Good Will Hunting is significant on so many levels in this film.

The characters in this film also added significantly to this film. The unique personalities of all the actors make it very easy for viewers to relate to the people in this film. For example, not very many people can relate to Will on an intellectual level, but they may be able to relate to him (or know someone that can relate to him) on an emotional level. The trauma that Will experienced in his childhood is very much affecting his life and many viewers might have similar experiences. Another aspect that viewers could relate to would be the college professors and Will's best friend. Viewers might also be able to understand what it is like to try to help a young person that has a lot of potential.

I'm actually glad that I did not watch this film until I was older and more mature. Now I can appreciate the film and relate to it much more than I might have if I watched it at a younger age. I was also able to understand a lot of the symbolism used in this film. There were many symbols in Good Will Hunting. For example, the fight scene at the beginning of the movie symbolized the loyalty that the four young friends had for each other. Despite not knowing what they were getting into, Will's three friends all followed him into a fight with people they didn't know.

I feel that many people can enjoy this movie because they appreciate all the aspects in this film. In the end, this film was great. It had adventure, romance, and conflict. But most importantly, Good Will Hunting was realistic.