Good Will Hunting
Frank Orama
ENC 1102
Prof. Goodwin
7/8/2011
Good Will Hunting Good Will Hunting is a story of a young man’s journey to find his place in the world by finding out who he really is. Matt Damon plays a troubled genius with a great awareness to other peoples feelings and thoughts. The movie is an adventure through the mind of Will Hunting, as he has to go through therapy instead of ending up in jail. Robin Williams. Who plays Will Hunting’s psychologist, helps Will discover himself and realize his place and value to the world by understanding what matters most to him. The director, Gus Van Sant uses many different features to induce emotion and empathy. These features include using different colors, angles/shots, and camera movement. Color is the most obvious element used throughout Good Will Hunting. Throughout most of the movie, very natural colors are used. The use of warm ambers is a way to create a sense of humanity and also a strong sense of empathy for Will. Will feels comfortable whenever he is in a place where the colors are warm and inviting. For example, when he is in Skylar’s dorm room at Harvard, or in Sean’s office, or his apartment, the color that is mostly present is amber. This creates a sense of warmth and the viewer notices Will doesn’t hide behind his invisible wall. He is being himself because he feels safe in these warm places. Whenever Will is not being himself and has his wall up, the viewer can notice the shift in colors. These colors are cold colors, which include colors such as blue and white. The change to the cold colors creates a sense of helplessness and nervousness in Will. An example of this would be Will’s first meeting with the psychologist Sean. Will is looking at the painting hung on the window and as he looks at it, he ties in with Sean’s life. As he moves closer to the painting, the room gets a little lighter, until you can see the fear in Will’s face. This creates a shift in mood within the shot. The lightness or
ENC 1102
Prof. Goodwin
7/8/2011
Good Will Hunting Good Will Hunting is a story of a young man’s journey to find his place in the world by finding out who he really is. Matt Damon plays a troubled genius with a great awareness to other peoples feelings and thoughts. The movie is an adventure through the mind of Will Hunting, as he has to go through therapy instead of ending up in jail. Robin Williams. Who plays Will Hunting’s psychologist, helps Will discover himself and realize his place and value to the world by understanding what matters most to him. The director, Gus Van Sant uses many different features to induce emotion and empathy. These features include using different colors, angles/shots, and camera movement. Color is the most obvious element used throughout Good Will Hunting. Throughout most of the movie, very natural colors are used. The use of warm ambers is a way to create a sense of humanity and also a strong sense of empathy for Will. Will feels comfortable whenever he is in a place where the colors are warm and inviting. For example, when he is in Skylar’s dorm room at Harvard, or in Sean’s office, or his apartment, the color that is mostly present is amber. This creates a sense of warmth and the viewer notices Will doesn’t hide behind his invisible wall. He is being himself because he feels safe in these warm places. Whenever Will is not being himself and has his wall up, the viewer can notice the shift in colors. These colors are cold colors, which include colors such as blue and white. The change to the cold colors creates a sense of helplessness and nervousness in Will. An example of this would be Will’s first meeting with the psychologist Sean. Will is looking at the painting hung on the window and as he looks at it, he ties in with Sean’s life. As he moves closer to the painting, the room gets a little lighter, until you can see the fear in Will’s face. This creates a shift in mood within the shot. The lightness or
Cited: Good Will Hunting. Dir. Gus Van Sant. Perf. Matt Damon and Robin Williams. Mirimax, 1997. DVD. "Good Will Hunting (1997) - Plot Summary." The Internet Movie Database (IMDb). Web. 08 July 2011. . "Story Analysis - Dramatica.Com." Welcome to Dramatica.com! Web. 08 July 2011. .