The unstoppable Will Hunting

Back in the distant 90s, filmmaker Gus van Sant had the support of the public and critics in alternative or independent film circles. The filmmaker had a predilection for marginalized characters, for telling the difficulties of homosexual men and even those from drug-addicted backgrounds. Therefore, it was quite surprising that he decided to direct a film as well-known and successful as The unstoppable Will Hunting.

It was 1997, a decade in which simple and clearly positivist cinema flooded North American screens. In this sense, The unstoppable Will Hunting It is a very “90s” movie. with a simple plot, without too much intrigue and with a predictable outcome. However, the message conquers us from the first minutes and invites us to stay until the end.

The film presents us with a conflictive, charismatic young man with a clear tendency towards violence. Will, against all odds, proves to have a brilliant mind, with a special talent for mathematics and an eidetic memory.

As a result of a fight, he will have legal problems from which he will manage to get out with the help of Professor Lambeau, an eminence in the field of mathematics who is willing to give him a chance.

The other side of the coin is that the young man must attend therapy, but he does not achieve good results with any psychologist until he comes into contact with Sean, a former classmate of Lambeau.

The film will discover us progressively the reasons that lead Will to adopt this violent behavior, to not want to be associated with anything or anyone. Robin Williams especially shines as Sean, a character that greatly reminds us of the one he played in Dead poets society (Peter Weir, 1989).

A set that works

Curiously, unlike other similar films, The unstoppable Will Hunting it does not come from any literary precedent; That is, it is an original script.

Ben Affleck and Matt Damon were not, at that time, the well-known faces they are today. It is true that both had taken their first steps as actors with considerable success, but for many, they were still two great unknowns.

In a desire to do something different, something together among friends, the script for The unstoppable Will Hunting. At first, the film was going to adopt a tone closer to the thriller already the policebut ultimately, the result was quite far from this idea.

Likewise, the production company showed some reluctance to include the two young people in the cast, although, luckily, they ended up relenting. And we say fortunately because one of the strongest points of the film lies, precisely, in the performances. We have already talked about an outstanding Robin Williams, but the message would not have penetrated so deeply just because of the work of an actor.

In fact, The scenes that Williams and Damon share are already part of the cinema imagination of the 90s. They both embody their characters perfectly, so much so that their relationship seems real.

Another of the great successes is found in its soundtrack, composed by Danny Elfmanwho, in the 90s, was savoring the honeys of success. Perhaps, at first, his name does not tell us much, but behind his signature are some of the tunes best known and loved by the public.

His collaborations with Tim Burton are extremely well known: Edward Scissorhands, Mars Attacks, Sleepy Hollow…But he is also the architect of the well-known tune of The Simpson. In The unstoppable Will HuntingElfman manages to emphasize the characters’ emotions through his music.

In short, the film had some good ingredients that immediately catapulted it to success. Of 9 Oscar nominations, won the award for best supporting actor for Robin Williams and best original screenplay for Damon and Affleck.

The indomitable Will Hunting: a clear message

The story that raises The unstoppable Will Hunting It works well because it transmits a positive, optimistic and improvement message. A message that, despite this, can end up tiring to many because of how predictable it seems; However, it is still effective due to the way its story follows.

North American and mainstream cinema has given us countless titles of this type that, with the passage of time, fall into oblivion, are not very credible and whose message remains on the surface.

Why, then, The unstoppable Will Hunting Has it survived well over time? Because We have a cast that accompanies the strength of their dialogues, because far from showing a message full of artifice, it focuses on the most human part of its protagonists.

We have seen this story countless times. The story of the young man who survives in the suburbs, plagued by emotional deficiencies and unable to control his violence who, finally, ends up overcoming the obstacles and comes out ahead. It’s nothing new, it’s not groundbreaking, and yet it ends up captivating us..

Memorable is the scene in which, sitting on a bench, Williams’ character manages to leave young Will speechless. Showing him that no one can know how he feels or what he has experienced and that, in the same way, he cannot know the rest of the world either.

Books and philosophy help us understand and know the world, but at the end of the day, experiences are our own and subjective. Little by little, we will witness Will’s progress and learning process.

The young man is not shown in a superficial way, but rather we are brought closer to him through the figure of the psychologist. A character that will end up opening his eyes and empathizing with him, because like every human being, he also carries an important burden on his back and must also face his demons.

This message of improvement is easily captured by the viewer. The whole film, despite having hardly any action, ends up entertaining us and immersing us in a kind of reconciliation with the past, acceptance and forgiveness.

stormy past

The protagonist’s past has direct consequences on his present. Although At first we don’t really understand what’s happening to Will, we know that something happened to him in his childhood.that the fact of being an orphan could have taken its toll on him, leaving irreparable consequences.

We see this in his relationship with his friends, the only people he seems to trust; in his attitude toward work and even in his relationship with Skylar, a young medical student.

Will doesn’t seem to want to get involved romantically – or in any other way – with anything or anyone. He prefers not to have responsibilities, nor to be carried away by his feelings.

The abandonment in his childhood has caused him an irrational fear that prevents him from maintaining something stable in his life. For this reason, he does not want to listen to Professor Lambeau’s instructions, nor does he want to travel with Skylar, but he prefers to continue with his life as he had done until now.

Social pressure is, in turn, portrayed in the film. Sometimes, we take for granted that a person with high abilities should make the most of them and perform a certain profession.. Perhaps we should ask ourselves what those real desires of the individual are and not what we consider best.

It is clear that Will is special, he is one of those geniuses that we can count on the fingers of one hand among the entire world population, but That doesn’t mean you have to follow a certain path.. Faced with the pressure that Lambeau exerts, Sean will react from understanding, trying to get the young man to decide for himself what is best, to resolve his past conflicts and build his own path.

Definitely, The unstoppable Will Hunting presents us with an absolutely nineties film, positive and nothing new. But Its importance lies in the universality of its message, in the way it manages to transmit emotions. and, finally, give us an optimistic message without giving up the purest entertainment.

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