RUNNING HEAD: Chapter 15 Movie Review and Response

Chapter 15 Movie Review and Response

Steven Clark
April 3, 2016
Ivy Tech Community College
Education 230

Chapter 15 Movie Review and Response

The purpose of this paper is to review and respond to one of the movie choices given by
our instructor. The movie that I chose to watch and respond to is Good Will Hunting. This movie
is one of a young adult that is a janitor at a prestigious college that is discovered to have the high
ability to solve difficult mathematical problems. I have been asked to identify the main
characters and their psychological and behavioral characteristics. There are four main characters
portrayed in this film. Three of the characters are the basic components to the plot of the movie,
but the fourth is essential to the reality of the movie and making it one of believability.
The first character I will describe is Professor Lambreau, an instructor at the college that
Will (Movies main character) worked at as a janitor. The professor is a person of entitlement in
my opinion and looks first for his own credit before others. He is trying to find relevance in his
own career by discovering this talented young man. Throughout the movie he pushes to have
Will integrated into academia and associated circles that he is involved with. He does in fact help
Will, but it is my opinion that it is only to assist in his own credibility and notoriety. The
professors character is very self-centered and even when helping someone else he seeks his own
justification and need for acceptance of what he has done.
Sean is the next character that I will evaluate. He is a longtime friend of professor
Lambreau from college days spent together as roommates. Sean is a psychologist that is teaching
at a Boston community college and is brought into the plot as a condition of Wills court ordered
probation set up through the court system with the assistance of Dr. Lambreau. It is noted in the
movie that Sean is considered very smart, but his peers may think that he has done nothing with
his abilities. He ends up being a therapist for Will to meet the terms of the courts probation
conditions. To me, Sean is a portrayal of that teacher that is, all-in, the well-being of the student

Chapter 15 Movie Review and Response

or child is first, even when and if it hurts him emotionally or physically. This is what I believe all
teachers or instructors should strive to achieve in their career. He is able to relate to and help Will
due to their geographical upbringing and knowing the environment in which they were both
raised in. This had a direct bearing on the possibility that Will did not have to be what everyone
that he grew up with was. Without this therapy and friendship neither character would have
moved on with their life, and would have accepted what other perceived them as.
Chuckie is Wills childhood best friend and is Wills safety. He and the other two friends
are very loyal and dedicated to Will and accept him for whatever he wants to be in life. Some
may interpret them as enabling Will in being complacent in his life, but as the movie unfolds we
find this to be completely untrue. Chuckie does tell will that he does not owe the use of his
ability to himself but to Chuckie and his other friends. He states the best part of his day is from
the corner to Wills house and wanting to knock on the door to find that Will is gone, to a better
life (Sant, 1997). This shows the depth of their friendship and just how smart Chuckie really is,
and also lets will know that it is okay to move forward in his own life. This character is crucial to
the movie though not as involved in the total plot.
The final character is the main one, Will. Will is an extraordinarily gifted individual in
the area of mathematics. No formal learning was instilled in him and his upbringing and
environment should have destroyed any ambition to further an education. His giftedness was
obviously missed as a youth and he was a delinquent throughout his childhood. This could be
due to the lack of resources in a low socioeconomic area and advantages that affluent families
have (Daniel P. Hallahan, 2015). Will did know, however, that he was gifted in a way that other
people are not. This would explain the janitorial job at the college, and solving the equations in
the math hallway. He was performing a job that was acceptable to his friends but nourishing a

Chapter 15 Movie Review and Response

need to use his ability without anyone else knowing. Will definitely has a behavioral issue with
impulse control and acceptance. This is only my opinion from my observation of the movie, and
because I am not a psychologist or doctor will remain only my opinion. Will fits into the
description of someone with emotional or behavioral disorder as described in our book (Daniel P.
Hallahan, 2015). In speculating, Will is a true success story in the aspect that all indicators were
missed in his childhood and his environment should have led him to a continued life of trouble
and struggle.
This is an incredible movie and evokes profound thought for me. The major feeling that I
get from this movie is the question of how many have fallen or not been identified. We cannot
explain how people have these talents or why they have them, but they do. How many have been
improperly judged or diagnosed as behavioral or emotional problems? This is the lasting
impression that this movie will leave on me. It will help to keep me focused on not judging or
classifying into general categories and trying to find the solution that works for the individual,
and not just what works for the majority of the class. This movie has taught me that the one
may be a mind of a generation and for me to dismiss it as a behavioral problem could be
devastating to not only the child but a larger number that they could influence and help in the
same situation.

Chapter 15 Movie Review and Response

References
Daniel P. Hallahan, J. M. (2015). Exceptional Learners, An Introduction to Special Education.
New Jersey: Pearson.
Sant, G. V. (Director). (1997). Good Will Hunting [Motion Picture].