I have watched this movie more than once and now have a better understanding of what the director was portraying through the movie. The character Will is a genius from the Southey neighborhood of Boston. He is smart yet doesn't show it in fear of what people will think of him. Will and his friends have grown up in a tough neighborhood and make fun of the "smart Harvard people" calling them pompis, arrogant and stuck up.
I loved when Will told the Harvard student in the bar he could have received the same education from the public library for a lot less then the Harvard tuition and Will stated "at least I wouldn't be unoriginal."
Will was abandoned and abused by the people he trusted as a child because of this he has such a strong loyalty to his friends. He had built up such a wall around him for protection.
Will's psychologist in the movie was from the same neighborhood and really understood him. When he finally broke through to him by repeating "it's not your fault" was amazing! Will is a math genius yet he still needed reassurance that what had happened to him was not his fault!
The symbolism of his friends putting together their money and building him a car for his birthday gave him the opportunity to move on, "to see about a girl." Another symbol was meaning of the painting in the psychologist's office, it portrayed a lonely man in a boat fighting the stormy waters, this was Will struggling.
According to The Art of Watching Films, the movie title is an extremely important clue in identifying it. The character of Will needs to choose what to do with his life and to be able to be intimate with others. He chose to work as a janitor, at MIT, in the math department for a reason. He wanted this for his life but had such personal struggles he didn't know what to do.
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