But he's a mathematical genius with a photographic memory and the ability to conceive simple solutions to complex problems. He has a short temper and any little incident can set him off like a spark in a tinder box. Now, not yet 21 years old, he has accumulated an impressive rap sheet. An orphan, he was in and out of foster homes on a regular basis. As a child, he was the frequent victim of abuse.
And Matt Damon's Will Hunting uses pugnaciousness to supplant the blandness of Chris O'Donnell's Charlie. Al Pacino's Slade was a larger-than-life individual Robin Williams' Sean McGuire is much more subtle. The formula for the two films is similar - both of the principals learn from each other as they slowly break down their barriers on the way to a better understanding of life and their place in it - but the characters are different. Like Scent of a Woman, which was released around this time of the season five years ago, Good Will Hunting is about the unlikely friendship that develops between a world-weary veteran and a cocky young man. So, while Good Will Hunting is far from a late-year masterpiece, it's a worthwhile sample of entertainment. But it's intelligently written (with dialogue that is occasionally brilliant), strongly directed, and nicely acted. Taken as a whole, there's little that's special about this tale - it follows a traditional narrative path, leaves the audience with a warm, fuzzy feeling, and never really challenges or surprises us.
In essence, Good Will Hunting is an ordinary story told well.