Acclaimed film 'Good Will Hunting' to screen at Haifa Gallery

CAIRO – 24 January 2018: The critically acclaimed 1997 drama "Good Will Hunting" will screen at Haifa Gallery on Friday, January 26. Responsible for turning Matt Damon and Ben Affleck into superstars, the film also features a stunning performance by the late and great Robin Williams.



The movie follows the titular Will Hunting (Damon), who at first glance isn't a very remarkable man, since he's a janitor in South Boston working at MIT, all alone in a tiny apartment. However, his mind harbors an incredible secret; Will is a math prodigy with genius-level intelligence, capable of memorizing facts with extreme ease and solving the most complicated equations. As a result of his abused childhood, which saw him drift from foster home to foster home, Will is left blaming himself and refuses to put his skills to use, leaving him to stew in mediocrity.

Things begin to change however after Will is caught solving a complex equation left on professor Gerald Lambeau's (Stellan Skarsgård) chalkboard. However, Will is soon thrown in prison for assaulting a childhood bully, with Lambeau bailing him out on an ultimatum; he either goes to prison or studies Mathematics under his guidance, while seeing various therapists. At first, none of the shrinks Will visits help him, and he does what he can to drive them away… That is, until South Boston psychologist Sean Maguire (Williams), a friend of Lambeau, manages to get through to Will and offers him a possibility of change.

As Will begins to turn his life around, he also manages to change things for Sean as well, and the two begin a mutually beneficial relationship that challenges them both to confront harsh truths and grow as people. Another factor in turning Will's life around comes from his best friend, Chuckie (Affleck), who bluntly states that Will needs to stop wasting his life and put his gifts to good use. Will even finds love in the form of Skylar (Minnie Driver), who he meets in a bar.

Directed by Gus Van Sant, the film's script was written together by Damon and Affleck. Since its release on December 5, 1997, "Good Will Hunting" went on to win two Oscars, one of which went to Williams as the only Oscar award he ever received. Production of the film was complicated, with the script originally starting off as an action-comedy about a mathematical whiz kid and his buddy running from the government.

The head of Castle Rock, the first studio to buy the script, stated that Damon and Affleck needed to decide which parts of their story to focus on before production; the action aspects or the more thoughtful character story. Choosing the latter, "Good Will Hunting" came to be. Mel Gibson was chosen to direct the project after Miramax brought the project, but Damon and Affleck had their sights set on director Kevin Smith, who opted to decline but was responsible for bringing it to Miramax's attention.

Today, the Boston park bench where Will and Sean had an important talk is now a memorial to Robin Williams.