Robin Williams' portrayal of a therapist in "Good Will Hunting"?

I first saw this movie a few years ago and did not think much of it. For those of you who don't know, the movie is about Will Hunting who is a mathematically gifted person played by a young Matt Damon (movie made in 1997) who works as a janitor. He's not fulfilling his potential because of some psychological problems he has as a result of a difficult past, which he ends up facing, with the help of his therapist and friends.

So watching it again about a week ago, I find the late Robin William's portrayal of therapist quite accurate, even though the T he portrays is far from ideal, is human and flawed, with his own past and problems and regrets and pain.

But I've read that some people in therapy themselves, find many problems with the portrayal. So I may be under the movie's spell, having enjoyed the acting and writing. Though I'm not generally a fan of Williams's acting, he does a very good job here, and Matt Damon is also good, as are many other secondary characters. The drama is quite gripping and I liked the movie quite a bit, so it may be that I'm overlooking obvious flaws in portrayal of T and how therapy works.

I appreciate your views. And if you have not seen the film, I recommend it (but be warned the movie deals with some emotionally painful issues and also there is a peppering of F-words here and there).
Good Will Hunting (1997) - IMDb

I love good will hunting. My ex T told me to watch it when I was seeing her.

I thought that the portrayal of the T was good. Yes human and flawed, I've not met a 'perfect' T yet and the ones who showed no personality were the ones I never opened up to.

The thing is there isn't one approach that would suit everyone, for every person who likes his style- there are probably 5 who wouldn't




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I love that film so much. I think Robin Williams' portrayal was excellent. I also love Matt Damons role. I've even admitted to my T I have been tempted start singing and dancing and being obnoxious in session.

I liked the movie. Am not sure what do you mean by accurate portrayal of a therapist. I don't know what typical therapist is. Like typical teacher or typical librarian. I don't think there is such thing.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I liked that movie. Robin Williams portrayal of a therapist seems to be accurate in the sense that he is a human who has flaws as well, but I feel it is also an exaggerated portrayal of a therapist. All of my T's have been so so different from one another that I don't know if there is a typical therapist.

I think it's a wonderful film, but bears very little relationship to therapy as generally practiced. I do think it dramatically reflects aspects of the relationship as some clients wish it were: it dramatizes the longing some clients feel for surrender and saving and perfect love. And it plays into the savior fantasy of some therapists, I'd imagine. I'm sure there are some of both who would find it repellent for the same reasons.

I can't recall over all I found the movie too violent and that affects how I see/saw the therapist.

I LOVE this film, it's one of my favourites ever. Robin, brilliant as always.

I see his character as an idealized personification of therapy. It's like everything else on screen that's meant to represent real life interactions--it's distilled, honed, and (if the acting is good) riveting. In real life, if someone were to tape a session, it would just be two boring-looking people sitting in a room. Without a tight script and really good soundtrack, it would be incredibly tedious to watch.

I like the movie though.

That is one of my favorite movies.
My therapist is a lot like Robin Williams' character, except female. So to me it is a realistic portrayal.

That's one of my favorite movies too.