He rightfully got an Oscar-nomination for his roll. Leonardo DiCaprio is simply amazing as the retarded Arnie. Johnny Depp is so lovable as Gilbert Grape, the twenty-year-old son who tries to do good for everyone but doesn't know quite what he wants for himself yet. In that town live the Grapes, a fatherless family that consists of a mother of elephant-like proportions, two sisters and two brothers (one of them being retarded).Īll the acting ranks from very good to excellent. It's about a town, Endora, where nothing ever happens. It doesn't go for cheap tears but in the end you must feel something, otherwise you simply don't have a heart. Reviewed by Vomitron_G 9 / 10 The family that binds us The film is worth a serious look, for its thematic depth, for its acting, and for its attention to detail in sets and production design. ![]() "What's Eating Gilbert Grape" is a heartfelt story about life in a small American town, with all its kindness, big hearts, and familial love, despite the hardships. I did find the Arnie character to be a bit grating at times. The acting in "What's Eating Gilbert Grape" is very good, as is the color cinematography, and production design. And this film reminds me a lot of "The Last Picture Show" (1971). life is familial and loving, but it can also be confining. The townsfolk are satisfied with fulfilling small dreams, like getting a job at the new burger barn, or getting an ice cream snack at the local "Dairy Dreme". And he is very protective of Arnie who has a habit of climbing up the town's water tower. And typical family conversation centers on preparation for Arnie's birthday party, and debate over ways to cook bacon.Ī friend helps Gilbert reinforce the wood floor under Gilbert's house, so that the floor won't collapse under the weight of momma. The dinner table must be moved each meal to wherever momma is sitting. Its interior reminds me of the grim, depressing house in the movie "Silkwood" (1983). Gilbert and his family live in a modest house. Darlene Cates does a wonderful job in this role. In one sequence, momma must face gawkers as she leaves the courthouse. The film really tugs at your heartstrings. Seeing good people trapped in difficult situations is poignant. Even a grasshopper gets trapped in Arnie's mischievous hands. A young woman named Becky (Juliette Lewis) is trapped with her grandmother in the town by an RV that has broken down while passing through. A local woman named Betty (Mary Steenburgen) is trapped in an unsatisfying marriage. ![]() Arnie is trapped in a body with a flawed brain. But life in a small town in Iowa is hard, and it can be frustrating and confining. ![]() These are humble, unpretentious common folks who do the best they can. ![]() Small American towns nurture kindness and big hearts, as personified by Gilbert Grape (Johnny Depp), a twenty year old guy who heads a loving but difficult family of two younger sisters, a mentally retarded younger brother named Arnie (Leonardo DiCaprio), and their obese momma (Darlene Cates). This realization unties new feelings, new thoughts and new hope for the put upon Gibert, something new is eating Gilbert Grape. That is until the free spirit of Becky arrives in town, and with her grandmother are stranded for the week while waiting for parts for their vehicle. Gilbert's life, his future, is thwarted he knows this, but it is in this guardian angel that his love and bond for Arnie cannot, and will not, be let go. It is in this awkward and extremely one sided affair that the unfortunate Gilbert has to constantly, while working for the town's slowly dying convenience store, take care of his younger brother Arnie. Centred around the Grape family Ellen and Amy and their two brothers Arnie and Gilbert, who, along with their morbidly obese widowed mother Bonnie Grape are striving to survive and coexist with the absence of a father figure, low wage work and seventeen-year-old Arnie's severe mental condition. What's Eating Gibert Grape is a beautifully shot movie of tenderness, caring and self-awareness that is set amongst the fictional working class one street town Endora.
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