Good Will Hunting Case

Finally, an original idea from Hollywood! The story takes place in Boston, Massachusetts and is about a man named Will Hunting who works as a janitor at MIT. Despite him having this job, he is actually a genius with a seemingly eidetic memory. This seems a bit unrealistic until you learn about Will's troubled past, much later in the movie. A world renown professor, Gerald Lambeau, wrote a math problem as a challenge for his students to solve by the end of the semester. Will solved it in mere seconds.

Will is caught by the police for beating up an old childhood bully a few days later. Meanwhile, Lambeau discovers Will is the one who solves the problem, and decides to help him. With some persuasion, Lambeau convinces the judge to not send Will to jail but, instead, have Will under his supervision to study mathematics. In addition to this, Will is required to go to therapy. Will ultimately agrees because he does not want to go to jail.

Lambeau takes Will to several therapists who all give up on him. All five of them give up because Will is completely uncooperative and mocks them. Lambeau, desperate to keep Will out of jail, contacts an old friend of his, a psychologist named Sean Maguire. Sean makes a connection that the other psychologists could not because he grew up in the same streets Will grew up in, South Boston. Although their therapy session ends adversely, Sean agrees to continue seeing Will.

To get Will to open up, Sean tells Will a story about how he met his wife. The relationship between them grows as they continue to ask each other why they had made certain decisions in life, e.g. Sean missing the World Series to meet a stranger. Then, Will discusses a girl he has been saying as of late named Skylar. Sean questions why Will does not get emotionally close to Skylar and Will deflects the question by asking Sean why he does not get remarried.

Besides honing his math skills, Lambeau has made Will go to job interviews as well. Will feels that even with his immense intellect, these jobs may be difficult. He sabotages his interviews by sending his friend in his stead. Lambeau and Sean meet and discuss Will's progress overall. They begin to argue once they talk about what Will's future should be. Will accidentally sees this and realises that his caretakers are just as human and imperfect as he is. This event causes Will to go into a downward spiral.

Now, when Skylar asks Will to live in California with her, Will freaks out (as he should). He makes excuses for why he cannot leave Boston. When she gets serious with Will, he reveals the lies about his past to Skylar. She tells him it is okay and that she will help him, but this only terrifies Will even more. He thinks that she is patronising him so he storms out of her apartment, leaving her crying.

Furthermore, Will starts to rebel against Lambeau. He says the work Lambeau is doing is a joke and destroys an important problem that Lambeau is working. Lambeau admits that he is envious of Will's talent and begs Will not to give up. Will still does not listen and leaves.

Later, in therapy, Sean points out to Will his self-sabotaging behaviour when it comes to his personal and romantic relationships. Sean goes on to explain that Will does it because he anticipates his relationships to fail anyways. To avoid the emotional pain of someone leaving him, Will ends the relationships prematurely on his own terms. Instead of being serious, Will becomes uncooperative and gives Sean a smart-aleck remark. This angers Sean and he kicks out Will from the therapy session.

While working at a construction site with his best friend, Chuckie, Will informs Chuckie that he wants to stay there forever. Chuckie takes offense to this and tells Will that he would be wasting his gift if he stayed a simple labourer for the rest of his life. Chuckie's brutal honesty gets through to Will and makes him contemplate his life.

Withal that has happened, Will returns to another therapy session with Sean. This session is a very serious one because they discuss how they were both victims of abuse when they were children. Sean comforts Will by continuously saying, "It's not your fault." At first, Will is annoyed by this but, eventually, he breaks down in tears once he lets it sink in. This is a momentous breakthrough for Will. He talks to Sean and inevitably decides that it is time that should not let his past affect his future any longer. Overnight, Will changes and takes charge in his life. He drives to California and moves in with Skylar. Finally, he is able to take a humungous risk by living with her and having an uncertain future.

Good Will Hunting portrays therapy as an easy fix that works as soon as one accepts help. The movie itself is well written and stupendously performed by the cast, but that does not excuse the falsification