History Film / GoodWillHunting

** Lambeau would not be able to just walk in to Will’s arraignment, as it wouldn’t be set for a specific time. Arraignments are simply added to a courtroom’s docket and handled in order. Lambeau would have to do some legwork to even find out which courtroom he was in, then wait in the courtroom, possibly several hours, until Will’s case comes up.
** Will does not know Lambeau and has no relationship with him. Lambeau would not be able to even visit Will in pre-trial confinement without going through his attorney. If Will is representing himself, as appears to be the case, Lambeau would have to be on a list of pre-approved visitors. Lambeau certainly wouldn’t be able to get the bail waived and have Will released into his custody after merely having a conversation with the judge.

** The judge is extremely unprofessional when he brings up Will’s abusive childhood, to the point that he should be disbarred. It’s unlikely the judge would even have this information at an arraignment as juvenile records are sealed, and to bring up such sensitive material in open court, where ''anyone'' could be in the audience, just to tell Will where he can stuff it, rises to the level of professional misconduct. Not to mention his comment of, "You hit a cop!" which is presuming Will's guilt before the trial even begins.

** The judge is extremely unprofessional when he brings up Will’s abusive childhood, to the point that he should be disbarred. It’s unlikely the judge would even have this information at an arraignment as juvenile records are sealed, and to bring up such sensitive material in open court, where ''anyone'' could be in the audience, just to tell Will where he can stuff it, rises to the level of professional misconduct.

* BadassBeard: Sean's beard.

** $50,000 bail is way over the top for the charges Will is facing, which amount to assault, disorderly conduct, and resisting arrest. Especially considering he is in no way a flight risk.

** $50,000 bail is way over the top for the charges Will is facing, which amount to assault, disorderly conduct, and resisting arrest.

** Will does not know Lambeau and has no relationship with him. Lambeau would not be able to even visit Will without going through his attorney. If Will is representing himself, as appears to be the case, Lambeau would have to be on a list of pre-approved visitors. Lambeau certainly wouldn’t be able to get the bail waived and have Will released into his custody after merely having a conversation with the judge.

* HollywoodLaw: Zigzagged. Will tries to get his assault on a police officer dismissed, saying it was "self-defense against tyranny." The judge notes that Will had managed to get out of an impressive number of assault and theft charges, one by citing a property rights law from 1798. Sanely, he ignores Will's arguments and convicts him anyways. However, Professor Lambeau manages to have the charges deferred under his supervision.

* DidntSeeThatComing: Will decides to rill Sean over his wife during their first meeting, expecting to easily play him like the previous therapists. As expected, Sean gets defensive, but when further pushed, he instantly puts Will under a choke-hold and makes it clear he ''will'' kill him if he ever again disrespects his wife... then decides to deliberately stick to seeing Will on regular basis.

-->'''Sean''': You're an orphan, right? You think I know the first thing about how hard your life has been, how you feel, who you are, because I read ''Literature/OliverTwist''?

* ArmorPiercingQuestion: Maguire provides two of these directed at Will.

A 1997 drama film directed by Creator/GusVanSant, written by (and starring) Creator/MattDamon and Creator/BenAffleck.

After solving a complex mathematical equation at the campus, Will is discovered by Professor Gerald Lambeau (Creator/StellanSkarsgard), a Fields Medal-winning mathematician who sees a lot of potential in Hunting, and sends him to psychiatrist Sean Maguire (Creator/RobinWilliams), while at the same time, Hunting strikes up a relationship with the beautiful Skylar (Creator/MinnieDriver), who is also confronting her own personal problems. Will must learn to overcome his deep fear of abandonment (with Maguire's help) in order to learn how to trust and love the people who care about him.

After solving a complex mathematical equation at the campus, Will is discovered by Professor Gerald Lambeau (Stellan Skarsgard), a Fields Medal-winning mathematician who sees a lot of potential in Hunting, and sends him to psychiatrist Sean Maguire (Creator/RobinWilliams), while at the same time, Hunting strikes up a relationship with the beautiful Skylar (Creator/MinnieDriver), who is also confronting her own personal problems. Will must learn to overcome his deep fear of abandonment (with Maguire's help) in order to learn how to trust and love the people who care about him.

* PintSizedPowerhouse: Sean is noticeably shorter than most of the other characters, but mentions bench pressing 285 pounds. And as seen below, he can easily pin Will to the wall.

* ButtMonkey: Morgan.

* HollywoodNewEngland

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Will and Lambeau, to a degree.

* SafetyInIndifference: Will is an orphan whose adoptive father used to beat him. He learned to push people away when they get too close because he is afraid the relationship won't work out and they will hurt him. Thus, he falls in love with Skylar and then suddenly breaks up with her because of this. In the end, the psychiatrist, Sean, manages to get through to Will and make him understand that he has an attachment disorder. After fully realizing what he's been subconsciously doing, Will [[CatharticCrying finally allows himself to cry like a child]] in Sean's arms and decides to abandon said behavior.

* ProductPlacement: Chuckie always shows up to see Will with a cup of Dunkin Donuts coffee for him, though considering this is Boston it'd be weirder if he didn't.

* TruthInTelevision: The ubiquity of Dunkin' Donuts (rebranded Dunkin' in 2019) in the film. There's so many in Boston you'd think they outnumber Starbucks. It'd be weirder if the characters ''didn't'' drink Dunkin'' Donuts coffee.

* MacGuffin: Will's math talents drive the plot of the film, but it's not the central focus.

* HardWorkHardlyWorks: A repeated topic is how characters struggle to achieve what comes easy to Will.

* ChekhovsGun: Or guns-- Sean answers how much he can bench press, then a couple minutes later slams Will up against the wall.

* PetTheDog: Will sees an old bully at a ballgame and contemplates jumping him, but opts to get some burgers instead. He later sees the guy on the street and goes for him only after the dude [[PoliticallyIncorrectVillain catcalls a random woman.]]

* AmbiguousEnding: The movie ends with Will blowing off his new job driving across the country to reunite with Skylar. Will she take him back? And will he end up with a job where he can use his talent?

* AdviceBackfire: Averted. If Will hadn't been so standoffish about therapy and actually took Sean's story about loving his wife at face value, it would have served to completely validate his worldview. Life gave Sean the greatest thing imaginable: true love. Then, life destroyed it. Cancer. Which is precisely why Will avoids using his talents, and why he took the easy way out with Skyler. Will already knew that having it all easily lends to grief in losing it, and Sean played right into it. Good thing Will wasn't smart enough to see it.