every once in a while you see a film that is so effective in delivering the goods that it is easy to forget , and forgive , its glaring imperfections . 
such is the case with ? good will hunting ? , a subtle character study about a socially inept mathematics genius who struggles to find his path in life . 
despite some serious character problems , this is still a very good film . 
you probably know about the plot so i ? ll make it quick . 
will hunting ( damon ) is a janitor at m . i . t . , he ? s really smarter than einstein but nobody knows it . 
he likes to go out with his friend chuckie ( affleck ) and their other working-class buddies and drink beer . 
he ? s good-looking , charismatic , and witty but has a terrible time with authority and stiff college folk . 
after getting into a tiff with the law , a distinguished professor ( skarsg ? rd ) discovers will ? s genius and offers him a chance to clean up his record and avoid jail time , at a price : he must attend weekly sessions with a therapist and work on various mathematical problems ( that have stumped the academic elite ) with the professor . 
after outsmarting and scaring the hell out of a couple of different psychologists he meets his match when hooked up with a once-promising therapist named sean maguire ( williams ) who has his own problems . 
in the meantime will meets a british medical school student ( driver ) and they begin to fall in love . 
the story starts out well enough and is a pretty original basis for a film . 
even though we ? ve seen movies about misunderstood , erratic prodigies before ( ? shine ? ring a bell ? ) , the script here creates a complex narrative that doesn ? t just focus solely on one character . 
alas though , this is not a perfect film , as much as you feel like it could ? ve been while watching it . 
the one real problem i had with it is the unrealistic nature of the main character . 
is it possible for a lowly janitor to be this intelligent ? 
of course . 
is it possible for him to be estranged from any deep , human relationships ? 
usually , yes . 
but , is it possible for him to also be so handsome , funny , quick with the tongue , and city-street tough ? 
not very likely . 
come on , usually these guys are total nerds who can ? t even buy their own shirts , much less talk down a harvard student in a hip pub while picking up phone numbers from pretty med . -school 
girls . 
will is just a little too perfect , and in order to accept the character your disbelief suspension needs to be in excellent working condition . 
the heavy-handed , anti-war statement made by will at a government job interview late in the film is also boorish , overlong , pompous , and completely unnecessary . 
all this sounds pretty bad , but the film somehow makes up for it in other ways . 
damon ? s acting overshadows the fact that the character is slightly unbelievable , his performance is truly extraordinary . 
which leads me to the really good part of the review . 
the strength of this movie can be summed up in one single word : acting . 
i can ? t recall seeing a film recently that was so well-acted from top to bottom . 
from minnie driver ? s frustrated lover to ben affleck ? s laid-back best friend , and all the small roles in between , the performances are magnificent . 
robin williams ? skill is a given as a bereaved psychologist who could ? ve had a legendary career but was knocked off the path somewhere down the line . 
the real gem though is stellan skarsg ? rd ? s turn as professor lambeau , an award-winning mathematician who feels reduced in comparison to a younger , smarter will hunting . 
the scenes between williams and skarsg ? rd , as two old college pals who ? ve been brought back together by this enigmatic kid , display some of the best acting i ? ve ever seen . 
when i say delivering the goods , this is what i ? m talking about . 
watching these two work is what going to see movies is all about . 
gus van sant ? s ( to die for , drugstore cowboy ) cold , urban direction is right on , as well as danny elfman ? s sauntering musical score . 
i highly recommend ? good will hunting ? . 
despite its faults , it is still an intriguing and fascinating film and you are not likely to see a better acted one this year .