The “extraordinary” movie Robin Williams knew he could never turn down: “One in a million”
Every so often, you’ll stumble upon a film that leaves you speechless.
It’s not something that happens very frequently. Perhaps as often as you remember to actually change the head of your toothbrush or empty your inbox, but when it does, all those mundane tasks are rendered irrelevant, and all that matters in that moment is the power of cinema, the transformative nature of art, and the way it weaves itself around you, tying you up in its inescapable grasp.
But it’s not like you want to free yourself from this web, though, because it’s comfortable being there, caught in the tethers of a piece of art that forces you to confront your way of living – how you’re living and why you’re living. For many people, it’s a certain Robin Williams film that leaves them feeling like this, and you can probably guess which one.
No, I’m not talking about Jack, but Good Will Hunting. Written by its stars Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, who entrusted Gus Van Sant to bring their ideas to life, the film was a massive hit upon its release in 1997, earning a ‘Best Original Screenplay’ Oscar, while Williams scooped up ‘Best Supporting Actor’.
A hopeful yet moving film, Good Will Hunting isn’t the kind of movie you’ll forget anytime soon, and it’s one that Williams knew he had to be a part of as soon as he read the script. It’s a sentiment echoed by everyone who read the screenplay – this was a movie that had to be made. While director Kevin Smith turned the movie down, he even admits that the only reason was that he didn’t think he could do it justice.
“Kevin read the script and was unbelievably kind. I still remember the message. He said, ‘I wouldn’t dare direct this movie, this is so beautiful,’” Damon told Boston Magazine.
Williams was quick to agree to the film, and in an article for The Standard, he wrote about his experience of reading the script for the first time. “This is an extraordinary movie. When I read the script, I didn’t go, ‘Oh, my part’s good.’ I could only think, ‘I have to be part of this. This is a film that connects with real people, real life. It is one in a million. I’m really proud to be part of it.’”
That’s what cinema is all about. Making an impact, moving people, getting audiences to think about their lives and others – a good film ticks all of these boxes. Williams continued, ”It’s one of those films that gets to you and touches you where it really matters. The relationships all seem to work and genuinely interrelate.”
Williams found Good Will Hunting to be a natural extension of his role as a mentor in Dead Poets Society, which he starred in back in 1989, and he proved to be the perfect actor for the character of Sean. So, he signed onto the project, and it’s a good job he did in spite of Damon and Affleck’s relatively unknown status – particularly as writers – because it would become one of his defining roles.
