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QUESTIONS 4 . Should I Follow My Talents?

b S an author it is probably merely a change of em I

When a man ecome ' . h. h h h" P oy. h

. H t kes a portion of that ume w 1c as ttherto bee d ment to 1m. e a h • h" n e

h tudy or pursuit; e gives up somet mg of the le I -

voted to some ot er s . d d ga or . , . . which he has hitherto en eavoure to serve oth medical pro,ess1on, m b h" h h h ers

I . . h art of the trade or business y w 1c e as been striVi ,

or re mqu1s es P I d ng to ain a livelihood; and another merchant, or awyer, or octor, steps into his

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d probably does as well as he. But no other can take up h vacant pace, an ., th t e

. t gular duties of the daughter, the wue, or e mother, as well as sh qu1e , re h . I I . , e whom God has appointed to fill t at parttcu ar p ace. a woman s principal work in life is hardly left to her own ch01ce; nor can she drop the domestic charges devolving on her as an individual, for the exercise of the most splen- did talents that were ever bestowed. And yet she must not shrink from the extra responsibility implied by the very_ fact of her possessing such talents. She must not hide her gift in a napkin; 1t was meant for the use and service of others. Jn an humble and faithful spirit must she labour to do what is not impossible, or God would not have set her to do it.

MATT DAMON AND BEN AFFLECK

Good Will Hunting

The title of this 1997 film is a pun. On the one hand it refers to the title character, whose name is Will Hunting. On the other hand it implies that the film is about this character's hunt for something - for his vocation or, in a larger sense, for his identity- that he can accept with good will.

Will Hunting is a genius. He can work out problems in mathematics that baffle the professors who teach at MIT, where he works as a janitor. For complicated reasons that he does not himself fully understand, Will si- multaneously hides and displays his prodigious ability by sneaking around the halls of the school at night and writing the solutions to complicated

From Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, Boob . 1997

), pp. 125

_ 134

. Good Will Hunting: A Screenplay (New York: Miramax

322

MATT DAMON AND BEN AFFLECK Good Will Hunting

problems others cannot solve on chalkboards in the hallways. Will claims that he simply wants to be a manual laborer - a custodian or a bricklayer _ instead of a code breaker for the government, the job he has been of- fered. As the scene unfolds between W'.11 and Sean, his therapist, do you think Will really means what he says, or 1s he troubled by, or even afraid of, his own genius? Have you ever failed to develop a talent for fear of what might be expected or required of you if you did so?

The second series of exchanges in the screenplay takes place between Will and his friend Chuckie, both of whom are doing construction work. Chuckie thinks that he will be and probably should be a construction worker for his entire life. Like Sean, however, he recognizes Will's talent and hopes that Will will use it. Sometimes our teachers and friends can recognize and appreciate our talents more than we can. If several of our acquaintances urge us to pursue a particular vocation on the basis of our extraordinary aptitudes for that calling, are we obliged to follow their ad- vice? Why or why not? In his exchange with Chuckie, Will suggests that he values place - the neighborhood and his friends - over career, desire over talent. Gary Badcock (see Part I) argued that it is often quite legiti - mate to prefer place over occupation, desire over talent. What do you

think? Damon and Affleck won an Academy Award for writing the screenplay

for this film, in which they also starred as Will and Chuckie. Robin Wil- liams played Sean, Will's therapist.

SEAN

WILL

SEAN

WILL

SEAN

WILL

INT. SEAN'S OFFICE - NIGHT

Will sits across from Sean.

So you might be working for Uncle Sam.

I don't know.

Gerry says the meeting went well.

I guess.

What did you think?

What did I think?

A beat. Will has obviously been stewing on this.

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WILL

QUESTIONS • 4_ Should 1 Follow My Talents?

(cont"d) ki al N 5 A Somebody puts a code on my d k Say I'm wor. ng . . . k S I k h es ethin nobody dse can brea . o ta e a ,5 ot at it and

som bg k. And rm real happyw1th myself, cause I did maybelII Brea m\ybe that code was the location of some r mb YI J·ob we . ut e e . N ,h Africa or the Middle East. Once they have that 1 annym or h b I o- cation. they bomb the village where t e re e s \:'ere hiding and fifteen hundred people I never had a problem With get killed.

(rapid.fire) Now the politicians are sayin' "send in the Marines to se-

cure the area" 'cause they don't give a shit. It won't be their kid over there, gettin' shot. Just like it wasn't them when their nurn- ber got called, 'cause they were pullin' t~ur in the National Guard. It'll be some guy from South1e takin shrapnel in the ass. And he comes home to find that the plant he used to work at got exported to the country he just got back from. And the guy who put the shrapnel in his ass got his old job, 'cause he"ll work for fifteen cents a day and no bathroom breaks.

Meanwhile my buddy from Southie realizes the only rea- son he was over there was so we could install a government that would sdl us oil at a good price.

And of course the oil companies used the skirmish to scare up oil prices so they could turn a quick buck. A cute, little an- cillary benefit for them but it ain't helping my buddy at two- fifty a gallon. And naturally they're takin' their sweet time bringin' the oil back and maybe even took the liberty of hiring an alcoholic skipper who likes to drink seven and sevens and play slalom with the icebergs and it ain't too long 'til he hits one, spills the oil, and kills all the sea-life in the North Atlantic. So my buddy's out of work and he can't afford to drive so he's got to walk to the job interviews which sucks 'cause the shrap- nel in his ass is givin' him chronic hemorrhoids. And mean- while he's starvin' 'cause every time he tries to get a bite to eat the only blue-plate special they're servin' is North Atlantic scrod with Quaker State.

A beat.

(cont'd) So what"d I think' I"m holdin' out for somethin' better. I figure

324

SEAN

WILL

SEAN

WILL

SEAN

WILL

SEAN

WILL

SEAN

WILL

SEAN

WILL

SEAN

WILL

SEAN

MATT DAMON AND BEN AFFLECK Good Will Hunting

!"II eliminate the i_niddle man. Why not just shoot m bud iake h!S JOb and give It to his sworn enem h"k y . dy, bomb a village, club a baby seal, hit the h y, h, _e up gas pnces,

. I G d> Ch . as pipe and Jom the Nationa uar . rist, I could be elected President.

Do you think you're alone?

What?

Do you have a soul-mate?

Define that.

Someone who ~hallenges you in every way. Who takes you places, opens thmgs up for you. A soul-mate.

Yeah.

Sean waits.

(cont'd) Shakespeare, Neitzche [sic], Frost, O'Connor, Chaucer, Pope, Kant-

They're all dead.

Not to me, they're not.

But you can"t give back to them, Will.

Not without a heater and some serious smelling salts, no ...

That's what I'm saying, Will. You'll never have that kind of rela- tionship in a world where you're afraid to take the first seep be- cause all you 're seeing are the negative things that might hap- pen ten miles down the road.

Oh, what? You"re going to take the professor's side on this?

Don't give me your line of shit.

1 didn't want the job.

It's not about that job. I'm not saying you should work for the government. But, you could do anything you want. And there are people who work their whole lives layin' brick so their kids have a chance at the kind of opportunity you have. What do you want to do?

325

WILL

SEAN

WILL

SEAN

Ns , 4 Should I Follow My Talents? QUESTIO .

1 didn't ask for this. Nobody gets what they ask for, Will. That's a cop-out.

Why is it a cop-out? I don't see, anythin: ~ong With la)'in• brick, that's somebody's home Im bu1ldm . Or flXin' sorne- body's car, somebody's gonna get to work the next day 'cause of me. There's honor in that.

You're right, Will. Any man who takes a forty mi~ute train ride so those college kids can come 10 10 the mornmg and their floors will be clean and their trash cans will be empty is an hon- orable man. A beat. Will says nothing.

(cont'd) And when they get drunk and puke in the sink, they don't have to see it the next morning because of you. That's real work Will. And there is honor in that. Which I'm sure is why yo~ took the job.

A beot.

(cont'd) \ just want to know why you decided to sneak around at night, writing on chalkboards and lying about it.

(beat)

'Cause there's no honor in that.

Willis silent.

(cont'd) Something you want to say?

Sean gets up, goes to the door and opens it. (cont'd) Why don't you come back when you have an answer for me.

WILL

SEAN WILL

What>

If you won't answer my questions, you're wasting my time. What>

Will loses it, slams the door shut.

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MATT DAMON AND BEN AFFLECK , G d 00 Will Hunting

WILL

SEAN

WILL

SEAN

(cont 'd) fuck you!

Sean has finalry gotten to Will.

(cont'd) Who the fuck are you to lecture me about life? You fuck.in' burnout! Where's your "soul-mate"?!

Sean lets this play out.

(cont'd) Dead! She dies and you just cash in your chips. That's a fuck.in' cop-out!

I been there. I played my hand.

That's right. And you fuck.in' lost! And some people would have the sack to lose a big hand like that and still come back and ante up again!

Look at me. What do you want to do?

A beat. Will looks up.

(cont'd) You and your bullshit. You got an answer for everybody. But I asked you a straight question and you can't give me a straight answer. Because you don't know.

Sean goes to the door and opens it. Will walks out.

CUT TO: INT. MAGGIORE BUILDER'S CONSTRUCTION SITE - DAY

Will and Chuckie take crowbars to a wall. This is what they do for a living. As they routinery hammer away, Will becomes more involved in his battle with the wall. Plaster and lathing fly as Will vents his rage. Chuckie, noticing, stops working and takes a step back, watching Will. Will is oblivious ....

EXT. HANRAHAN'S PACKAGE STORE - LATER

Will walks out carrying a brown bag. He is filthy, having just knocked off work.

327

QUESTIONS 4. Should l Follow My Talents?

cuTTO: EXT. MAGGIORE BUILDER'S CONSTRUCTION SITE - PARKING LOT

Chuckie is sitting on the hood ~f his Cadillac,_ watching Will across the str<eL Chuckie is eoV<rtd m gnme as well. Wall starts walking towards Chuckie. As he d111ws closer, he heaves a can of Budweiser a good thirty yards, to Chuckie, who handles it routinely.

Will takes a seat next to Chuckie and they crack open their beers. Other i>'Orkers file out of the site. They drink.

CHUCKIE How's the woman?

WlLL Gone.

CHUCKIE What? WlLL She went to Medical school in California.

CHUCKIE Sorry, brother.

(beat) I don't know what to tell ya. You know all the girls I been with. You been with 'em too, except for Cheryl McGovern which was a big mistake on your part brother ...

Wlll Oh I'm sure, that's why only one of us has herpes.

CHUCKIE Some shows are worth the price of admission, partner.

This gets a small laugh from Will.

CHUCKIE (cont'd) My fuckin' back is killin' me. A passing SHEET METAL WORKER overhears this.

SHEET METAL WORKER That's why you should'a gone to college.

WlLL Fuck you. CHUCKIE Suck my crank. Fuckin' sheet metal pussy.

WILL

(beat)

So, when are you done with those meetin's?

Week after I'm twenty-one.

328

MATT DAMON AND BEN AFFLECK , Good Will Hunting

(IJUCKIE Are they hookin' you up with a job? Yeah, sit in a room and do long divisi , h

WILL (1-!UCKIE

WILL cttUCKIE

WILL

cHUCKIE

WILL CHUCKIE

on or t e next fifty years Yah, but it's better than this shit. · At least you'd make some nice bank.

Yeah, be a fuckin' lab rat .

It's a way outta here.

What d~ I want a way outta here for? I wane to live here the rest of my hfe. I want to be your next door neighbor. I want to take our kids to httle league together up Foley Field.

Look, you're my best f'.iend, so don't take this the wrong way, but m_ 2.0 years, i_f rou re livin' next door to me, comin' over watchm the fuckm Patriots' games and still workin' construc- tion, I'll fuckin' kill you. And that's not a threat, that's a fact. I'll fuckin' kill you. Chuckie, what are you talkin' .. Listen, you got somethin' that none of us have.

Why is it always this? I owe it to myself? What ifl don't want co?

Fuck you. You owe it to me. Tomorrow I'm gonna wake up and I'll be fifty and I'll still be doin' this. And that's all right 'cause I'm gonna make a run at it. But you, you're sittin' on a winning lottery ticket and you're too much of a pussy to cash it in. And that's bullshit 'cause I'd do anything to have what you got! And so would any of these guys. It'd be a fuckin' insult to us if you're still here in twenty years.

You don't know that. Let me tell you what I do know. Every day I come by to pick you up, and we go out drink.in' or whatever and we have a few laughs. But you know what the best part of my day is? The ten seconds before I knock on the door 'cause I let myself think I might get there, and you'd be gone. I'd knock on the door and you wouldn't be there. You just left.

A beat.

CHUCKIE (cont'd) Now, I don't know much. But I know that.

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