Good Will Hunting is definitely the movie that marked my teenage years. I’ve said for years it was my favorite. While most girls were falling for Brad Pitt in Legends of the Fall (alright, I was crazy about him too!) I was really into Matt Damon and Ben Affleck in the first movie. Had a HUGE crush on both of them!
Then, there was Armageddon. I wished I was Liv Tyler, married Ben Affleck (without ever forgetting about Matt! Never!) and listened to the theme song I Don’t Want To Miss a Thing in a loop. I lost count of how many times I watched this movie… There were so many! Typical teenage girl, right? Does anyone out there share those passions with me?
As the years went by, I lost sight of them both. I’m focusing on Ben here since this post is about his last movie, o.k.? Sorry, Matt! You’re still of great importance in my heart! But now to Ben… I used to read about the dubious career choices he made. I didn’t keep up with it very closely though, I really forgot about him for a while. I read some stuff, but nothing really compelling.
Turns out that, when I saw he was directing and starring a new film, I rushed to the movies! This is his third one as a director and the first I watched (see how we – Ben and I – lost touch over the past years?). And the good news is I loved it! Amazing film… Really.
It’s set in 1979, during the Iran Hostage Crisis. To sum it up: the lead Tony Mendez (played by Affleck, of course!) is a CIA agent in charge of saving six American hostages (and government employees) hidden at the Canadian ambassador’s home in Tehran. And he comes up with a pretty crazy plan to make it work.
The idea is to fake-produce a western movie in the middle-east. There was an actual screenplay (terrible! But real!) named Argo, and the six fugitives were supposed to be Tony’s crew. They’d spend two days looking for a location and then head back to the U.S. Pretty absurd plan! They refer to it as “the best bad idea we have”. That’s about it. Now you must watch the movie to see what happens next…
Pretty good screenplay. The urgency with which the things unfold, without letting go of the characters’ humor, candidness, deepness. I really enjoyed the performances. Especially the ones by Alan Arkin and (him again!) Ben Affleck. With a discreet, painstaking performance. Loved it! He nailed it as a director as well… Give it up for him!
Seems to be a strong candidate for the Oscars: best picture AND director!
Did you see it?
What did you think?
If you haven’t, rush to the movies while it’s still on!
