I love rewatching movies I haven’t seen in a long time, because it’s so interesting to see how perspective can change from scene to scene. i just rewatched Good Will Hunting for the first time in f-o-r-e-v-e-r and wow. It’s one of my favourite movies but I hadn’t seen it since high school, and with a few more life experiences it felt like I was watching it for the first time.
For instance, being in university I now have an even better appreciation for how delightfully smarmy and self-important Stellan Skarsgard is as Prof. Lambeau. Unfortunately for the education system he is totally believable haha. Skylar never made much of an impression on me when I would watch it in high school. I always liked her but was never exactly emotionally invested in her character. And this time I found her completely luminous. And I felt the same way about the love-story aspect: I enjoyed it but didn’t feel involved. This time I felt like it was really the heart of the entire story, and that it perfectly showcased the major themes. And while I was aware of the issues of classism in it back them, I don’t think I would have picked up on a lot of the subtleties.
What didn’t change was how perfect Matt Damon was in this. His performance was breathtaking back then and it was breathtaking now. Only now I felt like I understood him a lot better. Will’s issues with commitment hit a little too close to home, so I think I cared a lot more about his arc this time, and had a greater appreciation for the messages that Sean was trying to give to him.
Anyways, this was a random post but it was really just interesting to be watching it again. Because while I was watching it and picking up on the different ways I was perceiving it this time, it really felt like proof that I’m growing up or something? Anyways I’m looking forward to watching it again when I’m 25, and seeing what else changes for me:P
