麻省理工学院的数学教授蓝波在席上公布了一道困难的数学题，却被年轻的清洁工威尔（马特·戴蒙 饰）解了出来。可是威尔却是个问题少年，成天和好朋友查克（本·阿弗莱特 饰）等人四处闲逛，打架滋事。当蓝波找到这个天才的时候，他正因为打架袭警被法庭宣判送进看守所。蓝波向法官求情保释，才使他免于牢狱之灾。 
　　蓝波为了让威尔找到自己的人生目标，不浪费他的数学天赋，请了很多心理学专家为威尔做辅导，但是威尔十分抗拒，专家们都束手无策。无计可施之下，蓝波求助于他大学的好友，心理学教授尚恩（罗宾·威廉姆斯 饰），希望能够帮助威尔打开心房。 
　　经过蓝波和尚恩的不懈努力，威尔渐渐敞开心胸，而好友查克的一席话，更是让他豁然开朗。

1、（Sean与Will在公园里的促膝长谈。）

Sean——So, if I asked you about art, you'd probably give me the skinny on Every art book ever written. 

肖恩：如果我问你艺术,你可能会提出艺术书籍中的粗浅论调。

Michelangelo. You know a lot about him: life's work, political aspirations, him and the Pope, sexual orientation, the whole works, right? 

有关米开朗基罗,你知道很多，他的满腔政治热情，与教皇相交莫逆，耽于性爱，你对他很清楚吧？

But I bet you can't tell me what it smells like in the Sistine Chapel. You've never actually stood there and looked up at that beautiful ceiling…seeing that. 

但你连西斯汀教堂的气味也不曾嗅到？你未曾站在那儿，昂首眺望天花板上的名画吧？可是我见过。

If I ask you about women, you'll probably give me a syllabus of your personal favorites. You may have even been laid a few times. But you can't tell me what it feels like to wake up next to a woman and feel truly happy. 

如果我问关于女人的事， 你大可以向我如数家珍，你可能上过几次床，但你没法说出当自己在女人身旁醒来时，那份涌自内心真正的喜悦。

You're a tough kid. And I ask you about war, you'd probably, uh, throw Shakespeare at me, right? "Once more onto the breach, dear friends…"

你年轻彪悍，我如果和你谈论战争，你会向我大抛莎士比亚， 朗诵“共赴战场，亲爱的朋友”

But you've never been near one. You've never held your best friend's head in your lap…and watched him gasp his last breath, lookin' to you for help. 

但你从未亲临战阵，未试过把挚友的头拥入怀里，看着他吸着最后一口气，凝望着你，垂死向你求助。

I ask you about love, you'll probably quote me a sonnet. But you've never looked at a woman and been totally vulnerable……

我问你何为爱情，你可能只会吟风弄月，但你未试过全情投入真心倾倒，

Known someone that could level you with her eyes……feelin' like God put an angel on earth just for you……who could rescue you from the depths of hell……

四目交投时彼此了解对方的心，好比上帝安排天使下凡只献给你，把你从地狱深渊拯救出来And you wouldn't know what it's like to be her angel……to have that love for her, be there forever…through anything…through cancer. 

对她百般关怀的感受你也从未体会，你从未对她情深款款矢志厮守，明知她患了绝症也再所不惜，你从未尝试过痛失挚爱的感受。

And you wouldn't know about sleeping sittin' up in a hospital room for two months, holding her hand, because the doctors could see in your eyes that the terms "visiting hours" don't apply to you. 

你也从未经历过在她的病床前坚定不移地陪伴，紧握着她的纤手，因为医生知道你根本就不在乎“探访时间”的明文约束。

You don't know about real loss……'cause that only occurs when you love something more than you love yourself. I doubt you've ever dared to love anybody that much. 

你并没有体会过“失去”的真正意义...因为只有在你爱某人甚于自身时才会领悟。我怀疑你从未付出过这样的爱。

I look at you.I don't see an intelligent, confident man. I see a cocky, scared-shitless kid. 

现在我看着你，眼前所见并非一位聪敏、自信的男人，而是一个无耻狂妄、内心恐惧的孩子

But you're a genius, Will. No one denies that. No one could possibly understand the depths of you. 

但是你是个天才，威尔。这是毋庸置疑的。没人可以完全认识到你的深度。

But you presume to know everything about me, because you saw a painting of mine. You ripped my fuckin' life apart. 

但是你在我的油画上瞥过一眼、就以为了解了我的一切？你的狂言糟蹋了我的人生！

You're an orphan, right? Do you think I know the first thing about how hard your life has been? How you feel? Who you are? Because I read Oliver Twist? Does that encapsulate you?

你是个孤儿吧？但你认为我能看穿你的悲惨生活、认识你的全部，仅仅因为我读过《雾都孤儿》？莫非它能简化你的人生？

Personally, I don't give a shit about all that. Because you know what? I can't learn anything from you I can't read in some fuckin' book. 

个人而言，我对此莫不关心。因为你知道吗？我无法通过一些破书来认识你的一点一滴。

Unless, you wanna talk about you…who you are. Then I 'm fasciated. I'm in. But you don't want to do that, do you? You're terrified of what you might say.

除非你先谈论自己，告诉我你到底是谁。于是我对此着迷，我愿意来帮助你。但是你并不想这么做，是吗？你甚至还怕你会被说出来的话吓到。

2、（Sean向Will解释爱情的完美。）

Will——This girl's, like, perfect right now. I don't wanna ruin that.

威尔：在我眼中，这女孩现在很完美。我并不想破坏这种完美。

Sean——Maybe you're perfect right now. Maybe you don't wanna ruin that. But I think that's a super philosophy. That way, you can go through your entire life without ever having to really know anybody.

肖恩：也许现在是你很完美，也许你并不想破坏你自己的完美。但我觉得这是一个极妙的哲理，因为这样你可以一辈子不用认识任何人。

People call these things "imperfections," but they're not.That's the good stuff. And then we get to choose who we let into our weird little worlds.

人们称之为“瑕疵”，但其实不然。“不完美”那才是好东西，能选择让谁进入我们的小世界。

You're not perfect. And let me save you the suspense.This girl you met, she isn't perfect either.But the question is whether or not you're perfect for each other.That's the whole deal. That's what intimacy is all about.Now you can know everything in the world, but the only way you're findin' out that one is by givin' it a shot.

你并不是完美的，我也不想吊你胃口。我想说的是，你认识的那个女孩，也不是完美的，但关键是你们能否完美的适应彼此。亲密关系就是这么回事。你可以了解世间万物，但追根溯源的唯一途径便是亲身尝试。

3、（Sean对妻子的离世做出的保守选择。）

Sean-You ever think about gettin' remarried?-My wife's dead.

-那你考虑过再婚吗？-我妻子已经死了。

Will- Hence the word "remarried." - She's dead.

-所以才叫“再婚”。-我的妻子已死。

Will-Well, I think that's a super philosophy, Sean..I mean, that way, you can actually go through the rest of your life...without ever really knowing anybody.

-我想这是一条极妙的哲理...我是说，这样，你可以在余生不用认识任何人。

4、（Sean向Will述说自己为爱无悔。）

That's why I'm not talkin' right now about some girl I saw at a bar 20 years ago...and how I always regretted not goin' over and talkin' to her.

这就是缘何我现在不会因为当初在酒吧没有和她谈话而懊悔终生。

I don't regret the 18 years I was married to Nancy.I don't regret the six years I had to give up counseling when she got sick,and I don't regret the last years when she got really sick. And I sure as hell don't regret missin' a damn game.That's regret.

我不后悔跟南希结缡的18年，不后悔为照顾她重病而放弃辅导，不后悔那最后几年默默的坚守，更不会后悔当初错过的球赛。只是遗憾，仅此而已。

5、（Will向女友解释自己的天赋。）

Will——I look at a piano, I see a bunch of keys, three pedals and a box of wood.But Beethoven, Mozart-- They saw it. They could just play.I couldn't paint you a picture. I probably can't hit the ball out of Fenway.

威尔：当我望着钢琴时，只能看到一堆琴键、踏板和木头。但是对于贝多芬、莫扎特他们来说——他们一看到钢琴，自然而然就能演奏。我也不会画画，连球也打不好。
Skylan——But you can do my O-chem paper in under an hour.

史凯兰：但是你会在一个小时内做完我的有机化学作业。

Will——Right. Well, I mean, when it came to stuff like that, I could always just play.

对，我就是有这种才能，这种事情就是得心应手。

6、（Lambeau教授恨铁不成钢，对Will烧纸的疯狂挑衅无比失望。）

Most days I wish I never met you,because then I could sleep at night.I didn't have to walk around with the knowledge that there was someone like you out there.I didn't have to watch you throw it all away.

我常希望不曾遇到你，那样我将能每晚安睡。不用惦记在外面有个像你这样的人。我只是不忍心看你这样挥霍你的天赋。

7、（Sean向Will解释“心灵伴侣”的含义）

-Do you have a soul mate?-Define that.-Somebody who challenges you.I'm talking about someone who opens up things for you, touches your soul.

-你有“心灵伴侣”吗？-什么意思？-那些可以与你匹敌的人。我是指那些能使你敞开心扉、触动你心灵的人。

- I got.- Who?- I got plenty.Shakespeare, Nietzsche, Frost, O'Connor, Kant, Pope, Locke--That's great. They're all dead.- Not to me they're not.

-有啊。-谁？-有很多呢。莎士比亚、尼采、弗洛斯特、奥康纳、康德、蒲柏、洛克...-很好，但是他们都死了。-对我而言不是这样。

- You don't have a lot of dialogue with them.You can't give back to them.That's what I'm saying.You'll never have that kind of relationship in a world...where you're always afraid to take the first step,because all you see is every negative thing ten miles down the road. 
-你无法与他们对话，你无法回应他们你的想法。这就是我的意思。你现在绝对不会有心灵伴侣，因为你总是看到负面的事，但实际上差得很远。

8、（Sean对Will关于人生追求的质问。）

Sean——There's honor in takin' that 40-minute train ride so those college kids could come in in the morning and their floors are clean.

肖恩：你每天早上乘40分钟的列车到大学打扫卫生，为学生们营造一个整洁的教室。这其中当然有劳动可敬的荣耀。

I just have a little question here. You could be a janitor anywhere.Why did you work at the most prestigious technical college in the whole fuckin' world?Why did you sneak around at night and finish other people's formulas...that only one or two people in the world could do and then lie about it?'

我只是有个小问题。你到哪里都能做工友，却为何挑中全世界最负盛名的科技学府？你又为什么在夜里偷偷的演算世界上只有一两个人才能解出的方程式，而事后还撒谎不承认？

Cause I don't see a lot of honor in that.

我并没有在其中看出什么荣耀啊？！

9、（Will的死党Chuck对他吐露的真心希望。）

Every day I come by your house, and I pick you up.We go out and have a few drinks and few laughs, and it's great.You know what the best part of my day is?It's for about ten seconds: from when I pull up to the curb and when I get to your door.'Cause I think maybe I'll get up there and I'll knock on the door and you won't be there.No "good-bye," no "see ya later." No nothing. You just left.I don't know much, but I know that.

我每天到你住处来接你。我们出去花天酒地，玩得很开心。但你可知我一天中最好的时刻是什么吗？大概只有十秒：从停车到走到你住所门口的这段时间。因为每当我敲门，都希望你不在屋子里面。没有一句“再见”或是“明天见”，什么都不用说，你就是这样离开了。我懂得不多，但这些我很清楚。

10、（最后一课，Sean诚恳地为Will解除心魔。）

Sean-It's not your fault...

肖恩：这不是你的错...