Thing is, the film kinda makes it easier - too easy? - for us to decide Will should use his gift, because it's abundantly clear that he's the real deal. He's not just attempting heavy maths problems, he's solving them. Most of us are climbing hills without knowing quite where the top is; we get lost on unexpected plateaus; sometimes we find we've actually been going downhill. We have few indications as to whether we'll ever get there, or what 'getting there' will even mean. All we have is Mary Oliver's restive feeling; all we can do is have faith in that. Odd, isn't it? Us largely non-religious, rational, evidence-based types have trouble with having faith (and an acquired scepticism about being told [by Hollywood] that we should follow our dreams). And then we have to.
Thing is, the film kinda makes it easier - too easy? - for us to decide Will should use his gift, because it's abundantly clear that he's the real deal. He's not just attempting heavy maths problems, he's solving them. Most of us are climbing hills without knowing quite where the top is; we get lost on unexpected plateaus; sometimes we find we've actually been going downhill. We have few indications as to whether we'll ever get there, or what 'getting there' will even mean. All we have is Mary Oliver's restive feeling; all we can do is have faith in that. Odd, isn't it? Us largely non-religious, rational, evidence-based types have trouble with having faith (and an acquired scepticism about being told [by Hollywood] that we should follow our dreams). And then we have to.