Hello and welcome to Kat’s Catalog. Here I will be sharing films I compiled into a list from reading multiple sources about what films to watch in your twenties. As someone who is freshly welcomed in this age range and studying film, I decided to take on the mantle of delving deeper into these films and explaining my take on each of them. Please be aware that there are spoilers integrated into this post.
Good Will Hunting was released in December 1997 with a small budget of $10 million. It was nominated for nine Academy Awards and won two for Best Actor in a Supporting Role and Best Screenwriting. The film had a stellar cast starring Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Robin Williams, and Stellan Skarsgård. It was directed by Gus Van Sant who also directed the film Drugstore Cowboy.
Ben Affleck and Matt Damon wrote the film, but it did not always include Affleck in the project. Damon originally started it as a school assignment for one of his classes at Harvard. He had to write a play for a playwriting class but instead curated a 40-page script and eventually brought Affleck on board to help him create the first version in 1994. The storyline and the genre itself were completely different compared to the final product. The original script was going to be a thriller where the protagonist is still a genius from South Boston but the focus was going to be on the government aggressively recruiting them.
After meeting with a few directors including Terrence Malick and Rob Reiner they were advised about the plot line and how they should focus on Will and his therapeutic sessions. Once the shooting began, Damon and Affleck started crying while watching a scene between Robin Williams and Stellan Skarsgård because they had waited five years for this to happen for their work.
Good Will Hunting is about a man named Will Hunting (Matt Damon) who has a genius-level IQ but ends up working as a janitor at MIT. When Professor Gerald Lambeau (Stellan Skarsgård) discovers Will Hunting solved a graduate-level math problem, he decides to help the misguided youth reach his potential. When Will gets arrested for assaulting a police officer, Lambeau makes a deal for him to get treatment from the therapist Sean Maguire (Robin Williams).
Good Will Hunting is a film that brings perspective to the idea that qualifications do not define the intelligence of a person. It teaches that people can be the smartest person in the room but not take the opportunities that are presented to them, which mentions the question of whether success is subjective. The film shows Will being given this opportunity to become a prodigal mathematician while also trying to balance a relationship with Skylar, an English woman about to graduate from Harvard College. However, when Skylar moves away to California, Will must decide what he wants to do for himself since Professor Lambeau is pressuring him to become the next prodigy. Lambeau attempts to get Sean Maguire to persuade him as well.
This is an important topic to have a discussion about especially for those who may be looking for a change in their life and may be at a crossroads. The narrative sets an example of how to handle similar situations and to put oneself first when it comes to difficult decisions where one could let another person down. This is often a complex situation for young adults, or people in general, to be in because they do not want to disappoint the people around them. However, Will sets the perfect example for people to follow on how to put oneself first and follow through with what their definition of success is.
The storyline also delves deeply into acceptance of one’s past when one may not have had a chance to completely understand it. Will struggled with child abuse and created a facade for himself throughout the film. As he goes into the sessions with his therapist, Sean, the audience begins to see and understand why Will is the way that he is. He became this dynamic and complex character that a lot of people could relate to, which created another model for the audience to follow when it comes to helping themselves process the negative aspects of their life that they may have experienced. It shows how there is a chance for people to grow and surpass the flawed things that have happened to them.
I watched this movie for the first time this past summer and instantly fell in love with it. A few years ago when I was being recruited for college, I had a lot of people trying to recommend where I go to get my education while also growing as an athlete. I almost chose a school that a lot of people were encouraging me to go to since it was the number-one team in the country at the time, however, it did not have the educational program I wanted. I ended up going to Lewis University because it had the programs I was looking for and provided the best opportunities for me to further my education beyond the classroom. Watching this film, despite it being two completely different scenarios, created a sense of relevance for me. I instantly thought of the situation I was in and felt fully at ease with my decision for the first time. These past few years have been very complicated. They were full of setbacks, disappointments, and failures; but I continued to tread through. I would highly recommend this to anyone looking for a change in their life or who needs a reminder that life can and will get better, but only if you take one step in the direction that is meant for you and not for anyone else.
A quote that stuck with me after I watched it was, “You’ll have bad times, but it’ll always wake up to the good stuff you weren’t paying attention to.”
Katharine Svehla – Asst. Managing Editor, Prose Editor, Art & Design Editor, Layout Editor & Blogger: Katharine is a Junior at Lewis University. She is majoring in English with a concentration in General Writing and minoring in film studies. In addition to her academic pursuits, she is on the Lewis Women’s Bowling team and loves to work out, read, watch movies, and write contemporary fiction. After graduation, she hopes to get her master’s degree and aspires to find her place in the film industry and publish personal works. Some of her favorite authors include Markus Zusak, Michael Chrichton, and Alexandra Bracken.