"Good Will Hunting" The fate of Robin, Matt, Ben, and Gus Van Sant

Music by Elliott Smith, a genius chosen by director Gus Van Sant.

Director Gus Van Sant, who received his first Oscar nomination for this film, also directed `` Drugstore Cowboy '' (1989), starring Matt Dillon, and ` `My Own Private Idaho' ' (1989), starring River Phoenix and Keanu Reeves. 1991) and `` Elephant '' (2003), which used young amateur actors, also brilliantly portrayed the delicate and fluctuating psychology of young people as they transition from boys to adults. By utilizing such directing ability, the complex psychology of Will, a closed-minded genius child, is vividly conveyed.

Elliott Smith's music, which captures the delicate psychology of young people, is also unforgettable. He is a singer-songwriter based in Portland, the city that Gus Van Sant is obsessed with. Although he made his debut as an independent musician in 1994, the director had long been a fan of his and asked him to compose the music for ``Good Will Hunting.'' As a result, the theme song ``Miss Misery'' was completed, and this song was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Theme Song.

At the 1998 Oscar ceremony, Smith appeared in a white suit (which didn't really suit him?) and sang this song, but he had no connection to the glamorous show business up until then, and his face looked gloomy on stage. There was a strange sense of incongruity in the scene, and it is still widely talked about as ``the most surreal singing scene in Oscar history.''

"Miss Misery" MV

Three songs are used from his third album ` `Either/Or '' (released in 1997), which is said to be one of his masterpieces. There are many memorable songs such as `` Say Yes '', which plays during the lovers' date, ` `Between The Bars '', which covers the conversation between the two in bed, and `` Angeles '', which plays when Will calls his girlfriend. In addition, " No Name #3 " from the first album " Roman Candle " (released in 1994) is played in the scene where Will and his friends leave the bar and return home in the morning, and it overlaps with the streetscape of Boston where it is set, giving it a unique sound. Lyricism is born.

Smith became a major figure thanks to this movie, and later transferred to a major record company, Hidden Figures, where he made masterpiece albums such as " XO " (released in 1998) and " Figure 8 " (released in 2000). You can hear a more pop, spacious and beautiful sound. Although he was talented at creating pop sounds similar to those of The Beatles, the songs that appear on "Good Will Hunting" are all acoustic and raw, with a sense of youthful pain and sadness, and echo Will's own loneliness. It overlaps with my feelings. The sad thing is that in 2003, six years after the film was completed, Elliott chose to die at the age of 34.

Later, in the documentary `` Heaven Adores You' ' (2014), he described his surreal experience on the Oscar stage, which has become a familiar story, ``For me, It was interesting. I don't want to stay in that world forever, but I enjoyed it that way."

Looking back on this movie now, Robin and Elliot have gone on their own journey to the world of death, and Weinstein, the producer, is no longer in the movie world.

However, actors such as Matt, Ben, and Casey are still active today, and this film provides a convincing portrayal of their youth by showing their youth before their big break.

By meeting the actors, screenwriters, directors, producers, and musicians at the perfect time, a film with immortal brilliance was left behind.

Text: Sawako Omori

Movie journalist. His books include “Lost Cinema” (Kawade Shobo Shinsha) and others.

His translations include "Woody" (written by D. Evanier, Kinema Junposha) and others. Contributes to magazines such as ``Weekly Women'', ``Music Magazine'', and ``Kinema Junpo''. A research book based on the web series, ``Mini Theater Revisited,'' is also scheduled to be published. ( http://www.gei-shin.co.jp/comunity/18/act19.html )

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