Good Will Hunting

“𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐨𝐜𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟. 𝐈 𝐝𝐨𝐮𝐛𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐯𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡.”

In this movie, we meet Will Hunting (Matt Damon), a janitor at MIT who then solves a difficult math problem given by a professor who proves he is a genius. Overnight, the attention he had never known was given to him, and he was tasked to meet a psychologist, in order to find direction in his life. Will is wanted by the professor to fulfill his role as a mathematician. In his journey of self-discovery, it is revealed that he is an orphan with a rough past that has dealt with abuse and abandonment. He only has a few friends. However, it is implied that he does let himself be vulnerable with his friends.

Will Hunting builds a unique bond with his psychologist. The psychologist (Robin Williams) has taken on the task of being Will’s therapist after the death of his wife. Two different ends of life. One that is full of love and loss. One that has never known either. As the sessions progress, Will reveals his scars and fears as a human being. It revolves around how he only shows the best sides of himself due to fear that no one really wants to know his truth: the belief that no one truly wants him and so it is better to be the one to leave than to be left behind.

My favorite scene in the movie was the conversation Will had with his psychologist about how he met his wife. The iconic line “Sorry, I had to go see about a girl”. It was his introduction to Will that the moment he met his wife was the moment that he lived. He found love. It was not even about just being in love. It was about discerning whether it was something that you knew in your heart would remind you of the good things in life. For him, that was love, it was his wife. It was a significant scene because Will had a similar situation.

Will met a girl in a bar. Due to his troubles, he does not share who he is. It was unfathomable that this girl he met could say she loved him. Someone wants to bear the burden with him and not for him. He did not want to be pitied or be seen as someone to save. She understood that completely.

The goal of the psychologist was not to rear him to a world of being admired because he was a genius. He may even make history because of his intelligence, which was the goal of the professor. However, as a human being, he had compassion for this boy who struggled with being unwanted. The goal was to teach him that there are other things in life that matter more. Life is more than the glory being offered to him. Life was about having something that touches his soul, his very being. He needed something to live for.

This movie, as a student of psychology, gave me a glimpse of what kind of psychologist I want to be. To build that kind of trust with your client. To be someone they can be real with and not be judged for it. As a human being, Will reminds us of how lost we can feel. Troubled past or not. We are all looking for something to live for. I hope we all find it.