This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 11th, 2007 at 4:41 pm and is filed under Academy Awards - best picture winners and nominees, Drama, G. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
Director: Gus Van Sant
Starring: Matt Damon, Robin Williams, Ben Affleck, Stellen Skarsgard, Minnie Driver, Casey Affleck, Cole Hauser
In 1976, Rocky was released, starring, and written by, Sylvester Stallone and catapulted Stallone into mega-stardom for more than a decade. In 1997, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck took the same route when they wrote and starred in this fantastic drama. Up until this feature both men were doing small supporting roles or independent films, but after both became leading men. The story is clichéd, but well-written and well acted with some excellent dialog.
Matt Damon is Will Hunting, a troubled, rough and tumble mathematical genius hainging with his tough buddies played by Ben Affleck and his brother, Casey who steals several scenes in impressive company. These guys are from the mean streets of South Boston, where drinking and brawling occupies their time. When an M.I.T. professor (Stellen Skarsgard) discovers Will’s abilities, he sets out to develop them and get Will into therapy. This proves difficult until he tries his old college roommate, Sean Maguire, another Southie played by Robin Williams, to give it a try. Williams is great and shows tremendous chemistry with the young, talented Damon.
This is a personal favorite of mine and an indispensable staple of my personal movie collection. The story is very good, though with a simple Hollywood-style ending and has great dialog and characters to go with a wonderful cast.
