Intermission

by Jim Wunderle

"Good Will Hunting"

Directed by: Gus Van Sant

Starring: Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Robin Williams, Minnie Driver

Rated: R

A common thread that runs through the body of director Gus Van Sant's work is that of a group of people trying sometimes desperately to create a "family."

The drug-crazed thieves in "Drugstore Cowboy" did it. Keanu Reeves and River Phoenix did, too, in "My Own Private Idaho." Even the director's most commercially accepted film, "To Die For," featured the theme. The mixed up high school kids and the even more mixed up Nicole Kidman character were trying, in their own askew way, to form some sort of "family" unit.

So, Van Sant was a natural pick to direct "Good Will Hunting," a movie that features four young working-class guys, friends for many years, bonding together in young adulthood. Actually, though, Van Sant wasn't the first director associated with this film.

First up was Castle Rock Entertainment's Andrew Scheinman, but the writers (more on them later) balked. Then there was Mel Gibson, but previous commitments got in his way.

I think the fact that "Good Will Hunting" landed in Van Sant's hands was a blessing all around.

Back in 1994, before "Chasing Amy" made Ben Affleck a hot young actor and before Matt Damon had caught everyone's eye in "Courage Under Fire" and "The Rainmaker," the two lifelong buddies were slumming away in Hollywood, looking for a break in the movie business.

That break came in the form of a $1 million bid from Castle Rock for the pair's first screenplay, "Good Will Hunting." The rest, although it's still early on, is Hollywood history.

While not a perfect, or even totally original, screenplay, the story here is quite affecting, and besides careers as actors, Affleck and Damon no doubt have a few more writing gigs in their future together.

In the film, Damon plays Will Hunting and Affleck plays his longtime best pal, Chuckie. Along with a couple other friends, Will and Chuck work at low-wage jobs and spend most of their spare time in bars, drinking and getting into trouble.

There's one little catch here, though. Will, who's a janitor at MIT, is a mathematical genius and quite educated (albeit self-educated) in a great many other subjects as well.

Being a foster child and abused as a kid has left Will somewhat afraid of his own gifts and content to live his life with the only friends he's ever had. While working at MIT, Will solves a publicly posted math theorem, much to the amazement of the students and even the faculty. This happens at just about the same time he's facing jail for assaulting a cop.

A math professor persuades the court to put Will back on probation with the understanding that he will see a psychiatrist as well as spend some time each week with the professor, honing his math skills.

The story takes off here, with Will manipulating the first five doctors he sees, antagonizing them all. As a last attempt, the professor seeks out an old college buddy, Sean McGuire, who teaches psychology at a local college.

It's here that Will meets his match, as does Damon as an actor. Sean is played by Robin Williams, who has proven in the past that he can play a serious role with the best of them.

The relationship that develops between Will and Sean is the heart of the last half of the film, but not at the expense of the stories concerning Will's other bonds.

Besides his group of friends, there's also a new girl. She's different from other girls he's known. She's educated (goes to Harvard), beautiful (played by Minnie Driver) and very interested in him.

Ever the emotional recluse, Will pulls away from her, and this just adds to the things he's trying to sort out with his newfound confidant, Sean.

As I mentioned above, this isn't the most original screenplay to come along of late. It brings to mind films like "Little Man Tate," "Searching for Bobby Fischer," even "Ordinary People," but thanks to Van Sant's direction and the outstanding efforts from the entire cast (including all of the support players) "Good Will Hunting" works beautifully.

I'm looking forward to Affleck and Damon's next effort as a screenwriting team.

For those who care, and I believe there are some of us left around here, Woody Allen's latest film, "Deconstructing Harry" is some of his best work in quite a while. It's somewhat bitter in spots remember "Stardust Memories"? and the language is a little rougher than usual Allen fare, but the story, and the filmmaking technique, are top-notch Woody Allen.

(Jim Wunderle works at Associated Video Producers and is a Springfield free-lance writer and musician.)

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