Friday 12 November 2010

Review: What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993)

A film starring Johnny Depp and Leonardo DiCaprio... Need I say more?

Gilbert Grape is a regular kind of guy. He lives in the middle of nowhere, where nothing particularly interesting ever happens, he works at the local grocery store, where he makes home deliveries on a daily basis, and he lives in an old, two story house with his family, which consists of his mother, two sisters, and a brother. Yep, Gilbert's life, from an outsider's point of view, seems fairly Ordinary... Only it's anything but.

"I love the sky. It's so limitless."

What's Eating Gilbert Grape is a very sweet film about the life and trials of Gilbert Grape. As the man of the house since his father's suicide, Gilbert is incharge of looking after his mentally retarded brother, Arnie. When Arnie was born, the doctors informed his parents that he probably wouldn't mke it past the age of 10. Now approaching his 18th birthday, Arnie is both a blessing and a curse to Gilbert, who loves his brother, but longs to escape his routine life.

Gilbert's mother, Bonnie, is another obstacle within his world. At around 500 lbs, she's classified as morbidly obese, and hardly ever leaves her sofa, let alone the family home. Bonnie began gaining the weight after years of depression following her husband's death. She can no longer perform her motherly duties, and feels very much in the way of her children's happiness, though they would never admit that to her.

In 1993, neither Dicaprio nor Depp were what you'd call superstars. They were both known, Depp more than DiCaprio, but neither of them had the ability to carry and sell a film. As a result, What's Eating Gilbert Grape didn't perform very well at the box office. I imagine that, had the film been released today, the result would be very different.

"You're my knight in shimmering armor. Did you know that?"

Leonardo DiCaprio received his first Academy Award nomination for his portrayal of Arnie, and he should have won. Not for a moment do you believe that Arnie is being played by an actor. I imagine that there are people out there who really believed him to be mentally retarded. His performance is that good. I really grew to love Arnie.

The rest of the cast is also very good, particularly Johnny Depp, who, lets face it, is good in just about anything he does.

What's Eating Gilbert Grape is, at times, a bit awkward to watch; however, I would recommend that you at least try. 8/10

Trivia: When it came time to cast the roll of Bonnie, Gilbert's morbidly obese mother, casting dirctors could not find an actress suitable for the role. After watching an episode of "Sally Jessy Raphael" which talked about people who were too big to leave their houses, the filmmakers contacted the show in hopes of getting intouch with one of its guests, Darlene Cates, who was later cast as Bonnie.

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