Good Will Hunting

by Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Gus Van Sant (Introduction)

Presents the text of the screenplay to the motion picture about a young man named Will Hunting, a genius with emotional problems who is taken in by a professor/therapist who sees through his erratic exterior

Genres: Fiction, Media Tie In, Plays, Film, Drama, Contemporary, Romance

144 pages, Paperback

First published December 25, 1997

About the author

Matthew Paige "Matt" Damon is an American actor, writer, and philanthropist whose career was launched following the success of the film Good Will Hunting, from a screenplay he co-wrote with friend Ben Affleck. The pair won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and the Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay for the work and Damon garnered multiple nominations for Best Actor, including the Academy Award, for his lead performance in the same film.

Damon went on to star in films such as Saving Private Ryan, The Talented Mr. Ripley, the Ocean's series, the Bourne series, Syriana, The Good Shepherd, The Departed, The Informant! and Invictus. He has received multiple award nominations for his film performances and has received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Damon is one of the top thirty-five highest grossing actors of all time. In 2007, he was named Sexiest Man Alive by People magazine.

Damon has been actively involved in charitable work, including the ONE Campaign, H2O Africa Foundation, and Water.org.

Reviews

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

"There are no finely drawn heroes or villains in the script. There is no right or wrong particularly-----there is something more like honor and dishonor within each character."

This wonderful screenplay, written by two lifelong friends, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck is set in South Boston as the central character, Will hides an enormous amount of past hurt while struggling to get-it-all-out with Sean, his appointed, quick-witted Psychology Professor....who has demons and sorrow of his own.

An orphan and self-educated young man, "smarter than the most decorated MIT professor", Will hangs out....and hides out emotionally with a "scrappy" and entertaining group of southie drinking buddies who would protect him with their very lives....as would he them. There is also a love interest for Will that tests his abhorrence for change and willingness to trust.

GOOD WILL HUNTING received a well-deserved Academy Award and Golden Globe for Best Original Screenplay in 1997.

Enjoyed the movie more with its few minor changes to script, but the screenplay with its introduction and black/white photos interspersed throughout was definitely a winner and quick read for me!

[Mostafa El-sayed · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Sometimes I wish I had never met you, because then I could go to sleep at night not knowing there was someone like you out there.”

[Sundram · Rating 5 out of 5]

It'll be cheating if I say that I've read this because I've watched the movie and it's the fuckin same thing . Man this was such a good movie , Matt Damon and Ben Affleck are pretty good actors but this man Robin Williams is legend . Seriously he's acting master class 🙌⚡ This movie had everything perfect , more than perfect and I'm able to connect with it pretty badly . Means this Will is so relatable except he's a genius 😂 but he's defense mechanism man how much I can relate with it . My favorite movie of all time 😍 perfect . Watch this you all

[Jodi · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you want a summary read the wikki but you should watch this movie because it is heart warming and accurately portrays real life cheracters.

Film are often credited for their character development and this film is no acceptation. Its clear cut with no extra bull, I appreciated the lack of needless scenes in this movie. Every place shown on camera had a meaning, every moment worked to add to character development. There was not a precious moment wasted in this wonderful work of art. The plot line is predictable but after consuming large amounts of media most movies are predictable. I appreciated the acting, dedication to the role and accuracy of the human behavior science and mathematics in this movie.

[Rhea Sharma · Rating 5 out of 5]

well, this screenplay really does it for me. The writing, the characters, they all feel so amicable. Matt Damon's writing is sensational, along with the performance given by Robin Williams. My favourite line is “Sometimes I wish I had never met you, because then I could go to sleep at night not knowing there was someone like you out there.” LIKE ITS SO SIMPLE yet has such a monumental impact. This will always be one of my favourite screenplays, from the monologues, to the jokes, and to the little details in the screenplay that go unnoticed in the movie. I always like to read screenplays because it adds earnestness when watching the movie again.

[Freddy · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's especially fascinating to see the changes, however slight, made from script to film. After all, what sounds good on the page doesn't necessarily translate well on stage.

[Tamoghna Biswas · Rating 4 out of 5]

RTC.

[freya · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story behind me picking this up is that I served someone buying this when I used to volunteer at Oxfam, and I was gutted I hadn’t spotted it first (lol). I didn’t know you could buy the screenplay in book format, I really want to buy more screenplays of my favourite movies! This one is my favourite of all time, and I can see why the screenplay itself won Matt Damon and Ben Affleck an Oscar.
If you haven’t watched the movie, please do!!

[Jasynda Pham · Rating 5 out of 5]

In "Good Will Hunting", by Matt Damon, Will has committed so many crimes and he is on the verge of going to jail but instead he works as a janitor at a high school and a professor acknowledges and finds a hidden talent that Will has. He is extremely intelligent and doesn't want to do anything about it because people look at him like he's a druggie or he's just a bad influence. In the middle of the book, he meets Skylar at a bar and instantly falls in love with her. Skylar goes to college at Harvard while Will works as a janitor at Massachusetts Institution of Technology(MIT). His therapist and professor want to help him get better, and they want him to teach as a professor but he refuses to do this because he believes that he is too smart and he doesn't want to teach students criteria he already understands. In the end, Will brings his life into his own means and realizes that being a professor is not what he wants to do, instead he goes for Skylar who moves to California to go to Stanford. I think that this book was not only inspiring at most points but it was fascinating. I like this book a lot because I just feel that this professor and his therapist made a huge impact on his life because they so strongly believed in his intelligence and he made many accomplishments in such an inconvenient way.

[Vassilis · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my all-time favorite movies, based on a heart warming, simple but powerful sentimentally script. The characters built-up is really brilliant. It is all about how the past & experiences can tremendously affect our behavior and emotions, how one can be closed to himself due to pre-existing traumas. It is also how one should seek out for what satisfies his soul & what he really wants to do in his life, ignoring what his environment or society expects him to. It is, last, about opening up & finding your soulmate, the one person whom you can share both your good & bad moments for the rest of your life, and how much more important is that vs. focusing only on career or retaining your convenience within your comfort zone. Absolutely recommended, both script & movie!

[Nia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting coming of age idea tension between value of individual choice and that of societal values. Not much mention, though, of putting your gifts to the service of human civilization for the good of all of us.

[Hilary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Favorite screenplay of all time.

[YM · Rating 4 out of 5]

The most notorious thing about this movie – and it has a million great selling points – is its script, so I had to read it. Best friends everywhere were completely annihilated and made a giant mockery out of when this movie dropped. Academy win on a script you wrote with your bredrin in your twenties that stars Robin Williams and the big Skarsgård? No competition and no fighting chance!

Reeks of good penmanship. I'm very jealous.

[Lúa]

I love this film and I had the perception it was really strong on the dialogue. It is, and the screenplay is as well. However, the film develops and extends much more the story and the connection with the viewer.
Must watch film

[sammanthia starr-hath · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved, loved, loved this!!! Brings back sooo many memories ☺️

[Charlie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love to see the scenes that didn't make it, and the changes that were made (definitely all for the better) I need to watch the movie again. I can't believe this was written by 2 twenty-year-olds.

[Mia · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolutely brilliant screenplay written by a couple of boys who just liked movies a lot! Everything about this story is enhanced through the film and the wonderful performances but everything is still so genuinely recounted in just the screenplay that you can't help but love the whole damn thing.

[Tootie Blank · Rating 1 out of 5]

Does it REALLY matter what I think Matthew? Obviously, the question arises. What do I think? I think, you overrate yourself. I think, acknowledging you was the largest mistake of my life. I think, you forget the people you drag into your stories, life and playout. I think, you forgot how many times your watch caught up with you. I think, you forgot about a stripper from Myrtle Beach, SC and the "party of three" with your life, of your bartender wife. I think, you forgot about your trip to Jordan, with your tabloid stories, demanding money. I think, you're so into yourself, and wear so many people, re-script their lives, believe the public loves you, (when you're not that big outside of a real CLASS A HOLLYWOOD). I think, you have forgotten many things; specifically regarding Ben Affleck. I think, "who is this man, that pretends to shine before the world, yet no one knows his "shadow"? Who is this person, that can cause so much damage? That his entire life is nothing more than a script of PAST LIVES. I think, you have forgotten many-many things but BELIEVE others have not. I believe you are so superficial and that IQ of a brain of yours (deceives) you. I think, you should review the movie "escape room". I think, your businesses are as fake as you are a Harvard Secret Society. I think, the head skull you answer to is a total failure and owned. I think, any person that stretches their daily agenda to set up someone for such failure - as you do - clearly sees nothing more than conquered in life, yet, you never speak it direct to your choice of destruction. Why? Because you would be "paved" worse than the path of hell you created for another? You didn't get my brains, you got what was left of me. When you pray, no one hears you, Matt Damon. This is one script that will never end. You weren't worth the DOG of this story and that eye ball is closed. I think, living inside a statue "Oscar" is a lonely life. I think, after all the paper-trailed women and men you've sexed, I think, when you look at your wife and mix-bred kids, you vomit with disgust of yourself. That's what I think. And to finish, I popped your marble of a brain and your eye socket. You're not that intelligent. Possibly why, your eyes always scream death. Chemistry? I have a book on chemistry, and you are so wrong. Chemical Romance? Oh, Im certain that rainbow will never GLOW again. You're insane Matthew. The reminder will always be there. Happy Late Jess-i-cup birthday / Valentines Day from Faggie Mickey Sgt Pepper. And regarding the rest, it's gone. Loved upper state New York though. Too bad you lost that also. Thanks for asking -- what do I think --- I know you are a fan of myself.

[joonie · Rating 3 out of 5]

"you're just a boy. You don't have the faintest idea what you're talking about. You've never been out of Boston. So if I asked you about art you could give me the skinny on every art book ever written...Michelangelo? You know a lot about him I bet. Life's work, criticisms, political aspirations. But you couldn't tell me what it smells like in the Sistine Chapel. You've never stood there and looked up at that beautiful ceiling. And if I asked you about women I'm sure you could give me a syllabus of your personal favorites, and maybe you've been laid a few times too. But you couldn't tell me how it feels to wake up next to a woman and be truly happy. If I asked you about war you could refer me to a bevy of fictional and non-fictional material, but you've never been in one. You've never held your best friend's head in your lap and watched him draw his last breath, looking to you for help. And if I asked you about love I'd get a sonnet, but you've never looked at a woman and been truly vulnerable. Known that someone could kill you with a look. That someone could rescue you from grief. That God had put an angel on Earth just for you. And you wouldn't know how it felt to be her angel. To have the love be there for her forever. Through anything, through cancer. You wouldn't know about sleeping sitting up in a hospital room for two months holding her hand and not leaving because the doctors could see in your eyes that the term "visiting hours" didn't apply to you. And you wouldn't know about real loss, because that only occurs when you lose something you love more than yourself, and you've never dared to love anything that much. I look at you and I don't see an intelligent confident man, I don't see a peer, and I don't see my equal. I see a boy."

[Simon Sweetman · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was quite interesting to read this - nearly twenty years on from seeing the film. I never quite saw the fuss (of either the film or the script) and was firmly in the camp that believed William Goldman wrote/'fixed' this...That's probably not true, but where are the other great scripts from this dynamic writing duo? Some fine dialogue though, when revisiting this. I think I'd struggle to make it through the film again and care in any way but I did enjoy reading the script; didn't quite expect that.

[Realini Ionescu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good Will Hunting by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck

This is a stupendous work that has launched the careers of Matt Damon and Ben Affleck
They have won both the Golden Globe and the Academy Award for their screenplay

Will Hunting is a hero, an Ubermensch and a complicated, anxious, troubled young man, prone to violence.
When the mathematics professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology writes a complicated equation, Will solves it.

But he is only a janitor at M.I.T.
This could be perceived as a confirmation of the calling theory, whereby janitors with a calling could be happier than white collar workers without one.

Only Will Hunting is very often in trouble.
He has had an unhappy childhood and he is now fighting very often, facing trial for various offences and crimes.

His mind is brilliant.
Without organized studies, he is able to quote from Howard Zinn and various history books when there is a challenge.

Chuckie is Will’s best friend, aware of the possibilities and skills of his genius friend, for whom he sees a great future.
Will Hunting though is both admirable and repugnant in his attitude towards other people, which may make some sense.

It probably is difficult to see how outstanding his mind is, capable of so many operations unavailable to ordinary people.
One student is competing with Chuckie in a bar, showing off his prowess and the superior knowledge of history.

Will Hunting comes to the rescue and demonstrates the flaws of an education based on assimilation without analysis.
He points out the futility of reading various treaties without taking the trouble to think about them and interpret

- You have no personal contribution
- But I will have a degree
- So
- You will be serving my children in a drive through
- But I will be original…

Will Hunting is very keen on upsetting the analysts that he has to see as a condition for his release and parole.
He accuses one of being a homosexual, pretends to be hypnotized by another, inventing false childhood memories.

Finally he meets Sean, portrayed by the late, regretted Robin Williams, who has won the Academy Award for this role.
As somewhat expected, Will hunting starts on the wrong foot with this new analyst, offending him from the start.

Sean was more than in love with his wife, whom he had adored and Will hunting says that she was the wrong woman for him.
Sean’s wife has died after a long suffering and he is so sensitive on the subject that he grabs the patient by the neck:

- I will kill you if you say something bad about my wife

Later on, the analyst is sharing memories with his new friend, Will, about how he met the woman of his life.
It was before a World Series Game, for which Sean and his friends had waited all night to get tickets and got them.

But this was the day when he met the love of his life that became instantly more important than the game.
Indeed, more important than anything else.

Finally, a quote from the clever script, that shows the brilliance of the writing, but also the fact that it can be somewhat exaggerated at times:

“Why shouldn't I work for the N.S.A.? That's a tough one, but I'll take a shot. Say I'm working at N.S.A. Somebody puts a code on my desk, something nobody else can break. Maybe I take a shot at it and maybe I break it. And I'm real happy with myself, 'cause I did my job well. But maybe that code was the location of some rebel army in North Africa or the Middle East. Once they have that location, they bomb the village where the rebels were hiding and fifteen hundred people I never met, never had no problem with, get killed. Now the politicians are sayin', "Oh, send in the Marines to secure the area" 'cause they don't give a shit. It won't be their kid over there, gettin' shot. Just like it wasn't them when their number got called, 'cause they were pullin' a tour in the National Guard. It'll be some kid from Southie takin' shrapnel in the ass. And he comes back to find that the plant he used to work at got exported to the country he just got back from. And the guy who put the shrapnel in his ass got his old job, 'cause he'll work for fifteen cents a day and no bathroom breaks. Meanwhile, he realizes the only reason he was over there in the first place was so we could install a government that would sell us oil at a good price. And, of course, the oil companies used the skirmish over there to scare up domestic oil prices. A cute little ancillary benefit for them, but it ain't helping my buddy at two-fifty a gallon. And they're takin' their sweet time bringin' the oil back, of course, and maybe even took the liberty of hiring an alcoholic skipper who likes to drink martinis and fuckin' play slalom with the icebergs, and it ain't too long 'til he hits one, spills the oil and kills all the sea life in the North Atlantic. So now my buddy's out of work and he can't afford to drive, so he's got to walk to the fuckin' job interviews, which sucks 'cause the shrapnel in his ass is givin' him chronic hemorrhoids. And meanwhile he's starvin', 'cause every time he tries to get a bite to eat, the only blue plate special they're servin' is North Atlantic scrod with Quaker State. So what did I think? I'm holdin' out for somethin' better. I figure fuck it, while I'm at it why not just shoot my buddy, take his job, give it to his sworn enemy, hike up gas prices, bomb a village, club a baby seal, hit the hash pipe and join the National Guard? I could be elected president.”

[K. Rezaiezadeh · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've seen the movie so many times that reading the script is an almost identical experience. Still, definitely a good script to read if you ever need convincing how much just the right actors adds to their parts.

Amusingly the character who goes on to be played by Robin Williams was envisioned very different physically, and there's a couple of interested scenes in here that didn't make it into the film. Little nuggets of info-crack for someone who loves Good Will Hunting as much as I do.

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

I must have read an early version as there were quite a fair few differences to the movie. The screenplay had more character building but the movie was tighter and the flow was better.

The screenplay started with the boys in a bar recalling a story about cat murder, which would be a more traditional start, introducing the protagonist first. Whereas the film began with Professor Lambeau in class.

[Colin Chance · Rating 5 out of 5]

My all-time favorite movie! I had a ton of fun reading the screenplay.

[Munn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good Will Hunting. A book, a movie, and oscar-winning content. This book is not only so relatable with the audience, but it makes you self-reflect on yourself with the philosophical questions and life-changing decisions presented.Will is a genius in Massachusetts, who can solve extremely-tough math equations that seniors at MIT can’t. But, he works as a janitor on campus and spends time with his trustworthy and loyal friends.
Later on the book, he ends up in a fight with another person in a bar, which inevitably made him end up in jail, serving time.
Then, a Fields Medalist and a winning combinatorialist Professor Gerald Lambeau helps forgo him out of jail but with certain conditions. He does this because he found out that Will had solved a really hard maths problem, and wanted to take advantage of this.
One of the conditions that Gerald said to Will was therapy. Because of this, professor Gerald Lambeau hired 4 therapists so that he could understand Will better.
3 of the 4 therapists failed. They refused to work with Will, as he offended each and every one of them by being annoying.
But the 4th therapist, Sean, was something else. (No further information for spoiler purposes.)I recommend this book to people that need some life advice because this book has a whole bunch of it.
This is because when Sean and Will meet, they find out that they need each other. Will evolves as a person and matures a bit. If the audience needed some life advice, Will could be an example to start from.
Overall, Good Will Hunting is a book that inspires and pushes on people that they never knew they could be because the only thing stopping their dreams is themselves.

[Kelis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lambeau’s allusion to Vienna made me realize this is just one big visualization of Billy Joel’s Vienna. anyways I love this movie for what it is, it doesn’t try to be a dramatic tale of unexpected change, it’s pureness and bittersweet reality make it so easy to watch, or in this case, read. Will’s overall fear of change and desire to remain in a familiar and comfortable environment make the film beyond relatable and give it a comfort that so many other similar coming of age films try so hard for but ultimately lack.

“But you know what the best part of my day is? It’s for about ten seconds when I pull up to the curb, to when I get to your door. Because i think maybe I’ll get up there and I’ll knock on the door and you won’t be there. No goodbye, no see you later, no nothin’. Just left. I don’t know much but I know that.”

[Chase · Rating 5 out of 5]

Legit going to go watch the movie again after reading this. This script is GENIUS. There is just about everything here: humor, romance, alcohol, sex, a good character who just doesn't know what he wants yet, a bad character at first but he means well, a neglected past. I mean, I was drooling over the entire book, that's why I read it so fast. Was very impressed by the dialogue, and the plot doesn't really deepen until Sean gets through Will each time, their relationship is more than patient-therapist. I wish everyone goes reading the script, finding those little details that make the movie so wholesome. Loved it so far my fav screenplay.

[Lali · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is to Ben Affleck and to Ben Affleck only. So if you’re not Ben Affleck (or even Matt Damon) please exit this review.

Frankly, I hate you (yes, this is about the pain you’ve caused Jennifer Garner) but holy cow your screenplay writing for this (along with Matt Damon) is amazing. I cried, I smiled, I laughed and did everything in between while reading and watching Good Will Hunting.

By the end of this, I will assume some of you continued on reading, read the screenplay and watch the movie. xx

[Jacque Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a movie for the ages. We all love romance, this story has beautiful relationship presented on the screen but that's not even the best part of the story. Good Will Hunting talks about a complex young man with an amazing gift, but things are blocking his potential. The most important relationship in this story to me is actually Will and Sean. The gifted, troubled kid and the wise therapist. The screenplay itself was written beautifully with clear descriptions and clear directions. The dialogue itself was intelligently written, we truly understand that the person talking is different and more gifted than us.

[kaat · Rating 5 out of 5]

this isn't an actual book, it's a screenplay written by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck (soulmates inrl 😉) I loved it. there are some scenes in the book that aren't in the movie and they are amazing, in my opinion they should have put those scenes in the movie too. you can aslo see when the actors in the movie improvised, some lines aren't in the screenplay that are in the movie. they say some lines differently, but both ways are beautiful, the book AND the movie. loved it