What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993)

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  November 13, 2011

  mumby1988

  If you tried to sum up the career of Lasse Halstrom in one word, that word would be 'harmless'. Since breaking into film in the late-1970s after directing videos for ABBA, Halstrom has delivered a steady stream of consistently harmless fare: films which are sentimental, predictab... read morele, cloying but mostly charming, possessing nice colour palettes, quirky performances and a story that you will warm to, often against your will. What's Eating Gilbert Grape?, like Chocolat after it, is a reasonable if unremarkable drama whose charm eventually manages to overshadow its faults.
  
  Based on the debut novel by American author Peter Hedges, Gilbert Grape? was the film which put both author and director on the map for American audiences. Despite only breaking even with US crowds, the film won over the awards audience, who later rewarded Halstrom with two Oscars for The Cider House Rules. And whatever flaws or excesses Halstrom's more recent efforts may have, this film shows that when he concentrates he is capable of achieving memorable drama, at least in passing.
  
  One of the big pulls of Gilbert Grape? is its poetic visuals. Where most indie-spirited films boast washed-out colour palettes in a desperate bid to look hip and arty, this film comes across as artistically rich without feeling like it is trying to be like that. Sven Nykvist, who won Oscars for his work with Ingmar Bergman, gives us a naturalistic blend of the lavish and the worn, blending awkward dialogue scenes with wide shots of sunsets and trees reflected in water. It's like the lovechild of Nick Cassavetes and Peter Greenaway, being equally understated and arresting.
  
  From a more narrative or thematic point of view, Gilbert Grape? succeeds in capturing the feeling of being trapped in a town which does not inspire or enthral. Gilbert describes life in Endora as "like dancing without music" - it's full of people who have been there forever, but forgotten why they came here in the first place. It's a town in which nothing ever changes: Arnie will keep trying to climb the water tower, the campers will always drive past on the same day, and Gilbert's mother will always be as big as a whale (Gilbert's phrase, not mine).
  
  In particular, the film shows very accurately how such a town can drain young people of their soul. Gilbert is like the protagonist of 'Hotel California' by The Eagles: he can check out any time he likes, but he can never leave. He is stuck in Endora because all of his passion and imagination have been beaten out of him by the burden of his family and the boredom of his life. When Becky asks him to list things that he loves or is excited by, he finds it almost impossible.
  
  Because so much of Gilbert Grape? is concerned with depicting tedium, it can be hard to get a handle on the story if you're not in the right frame of mind. This is not a Lynchian view of small towns, in which the banalities of dinner table conversations mask deep-rooted, psychopathic horror. There is nothing as terrifying as Frank Booth running around with a nitrous oxide canister, and nothing quite as naively beautiful as Sandy's speech about the robins.
  
  The most tense the film ever gets is the scene when Gilbert is called into Ken Carver's office. Carver begins to talk about insurance and "accidents" in a thinly-veiled threatening manner, and we're not sure how much he knows about Gilbert's laid-back affair with his wife. This scene is quickly cut short by a phone call telling him the house is on fire, causing both men to leave both the building and the topic of discussion. This example cements Halstrom's approach with regard to depicting banality: it is not a means to an end, as in Lynch's universe, but solely an end in itself.
  
  The film also deserves praise for its depiction of and attitude to disability. The young kids in the film might mock Gilbert's mother for being obese, but Halstrom resists making any kind of moral judgement about her, or playing her condition for laughs in the scene at the police station. And then there is Leonardo DiCaprio, who gives a startling performance as Gilbert's autistic brother Arnie - in the words of Janet Maslin, he's so good that he's difficult to watch. Although DiCaprio was Oscar-nominated, it doesn't fell like an awards-courting performance. Certainly it's not guilty of the cliché of 'Hollywood illness', in which someone can look exceedingly glamorous right up until they snuff it.
  
  The arrival of Juliette Lewis' character brings lustre to Gilbert's life, showing him aspects of himself which he never thought existed. Because Becky is an itinerant child, she has no time for people staying in one place for its own sake, challenging Gilbert's conception of life and eventually persuading him to come with her on the road. Coming from a similar background, she demonstrates that it is possible to be happy in spite of your upbringing, and that with the right amount of self-confidence, life can be worth living wherever you are.
  
  The schmaltzy content of that last paragraph gives you some idea of the tone of Gilbert Grape?. In its quirkier moments the film will send many running for cover, and in some cases it will take a couple of viewings to actually appreciate the film. Lewis' character is airy and free-spirited in that way which is always annoying in movies: rather than constantly uplifting us, she is frequently so wide-eyed and dorky that we find her irritating. She lacks the gripping ethereal quality of Emmanuelle Seigner or the female protagonists in a Terrence Malick film.
  
  Gilbert Grape? is also desperately predictable. As soon as Lewis walks on screen, pushing her bicycle in her white hat and with bright red lips, you know that she and Gilbert are destined to be together. Neither the awkward romance which springs up between them or the central character development is anything we haven't seen before, even though the film handles it in a perfectly workable manner. Halstrom attempts to defy our expectations in the final act, and succeeds to some extent. But ultimately there are no surprises, as the final reveal turns out to be just a small delay.
  
  Paradoxically for such an earnest and predictable film, the final problem with Gilbert Grape? is that it doesn't really know how to end. The film is 2 hours long and would have benefited from losing about 20 minutes, mostly from its closing section. The final act with Gilbert's mother getting upstairs and dying is drawn out: it gives Halstrom the chance to give us a beautifully-shot burning house, but there isn't anything like the catharsis that there should be in such a situation.
  
  In the end, however, Gilbert Grape? just about cuts the mustard on the strength and charm of the performances. DiCaprio is the stand-out, but his performance wouldn't be half as endearing if it wasn't counterpointed by an understated Johnny Depp. While his performance in Chocolat was something to be swooned over, here he is more distant, awkward and mysterious. Lewis, for all her irritability, is pretty convincing as Becky, and John C. Reilly is an amiable screen presence. This film and his recent work in We Need To Talk About Kevin suggests that he is a solid dramatic actor whose work with Will Ferrell was just a brief bad patch.
  
  What's Eating Gilbert Grape? is an unremarkable but perfectly decent indie drama. Like most of Halstrom's work it is quirky and sentimental in a way which will leave a portion of its audience feeling distinctly queasy. But these traits are not as marked here as there are in Dear John, and the charm and believability of the characters is enough to pull things through. To quote Radiohead, it is a case of no alarms and no surprises, which passes the time rather nicely without requiring much thought.

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• 
  
  July 12, 2011

  fb619846742

  A well-acted melodrama concerning a dead-end town and how one of its inhabitants (Johnny Depp) struggles to take care of his family, notably a mentally-challenged younger brother (Leonardo DiCaprio) and a very obese mother (Darlene Cates), who hasn't left the house in seven years... read more. Despite the number of problems this movie has, notably the lack of romantic chemistry between Depp and Juliette Lewis (who is very average in this, which is good for her, I still don't get why she was in a ton of big movies in the 90's), it somehow stays on its feet at the end. The acting is simply sensational, with Depp (his most understated turn yet - and he's phenomenal), DiCaprio (whose facial expressions are just as heartbreaking as how he talks, especially during a key scene towards the end), and Cates (who doesn't go over-the-top at all and plays her emotional cards perfectly) leading the way. The end of the film has a particularly depressing and tear-jerking scene, but it doesn't conclude on a final note such as "The Last Picture Show", the ultimate "dead-end town" film - it has more of an upbeat ending which I for one was happy it went for. Not a great film, but definitely a solid one, and an understandably fine jumpstart to the careers of two incredible actors in Depp and DiCaprio.

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• 
  
  May 23, 2011

  ajv2688

  Although this movie stars two actors I dislike, Depp and Leo, it has a good, deep, unique, and realistic story. Anyone who loves serious drama, will love this movie.

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  March 14, 2011

  shawnewing92

  This film is a beautiful story about a struggling family who are living in unfortunate circumstances. The story is heartfelt, but it's Depp and DiCaprio's performances that make this film fantastic.

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• 
  
  August 6, 2010

  lewiskendell

  "What do you want for you? Just for you?"
  
  Small town life can be complicated. Even more so for Gilbert Grape (Johnny Depp) than the rest of us. He has a annoying and immature younger sister, a morbidly obese mother, the shadow of his father's suicide still hangs over his family,... read more he has a complicated relationship with an older, married woman, and there's a new girl (Juliette Lewis) in town who's full of experiences of life beyond the area where Gilbert feels he may be stuck forever. 
  
  Added to all that, Gilbert has a younger brother (Leonardo DiCaprio) who is mentally handicapped, and who unintentionally provides challenges and additional stress for Gilbert and his family. So, what's eating Gilbert Grape? A lot.
  
  I found the movie to be a pleasant surprise, even though I'm not typically into this sort of thing. Depp may not exactly fit his character physically, but as far as the acting goes, he was great. Genuine, expressive, and relatable. As were all the actors, especially DiCaprio. This is one of those movies where you can't help but sympathize with the characters, and even feel a lot of what they're feeling, yourself. The drama never becomes cloying or sappy, there are no artificial attempts to tug at your heartstrings, and as a result, the story feels refreshingly organic. I have no qualms about heartily recommending it.

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  June 4, 2010

  erika250

  a true family tie

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  December 10, 2009

  ScoopOnline

  Very Intense.

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  November 16, 2009

  ythelastman89

  I can't think of a movie that captures loneliness and depression quite so well. You can't get through this movie without breaking down and falling in love with Gilbert and Arnie. They share one of the most perfectly acted relationships i've been able to see. It's such a real love... read more that they have for each other. What also makes it great is the flaws everyone has. They're shy and weak at times, but it only makes them all the more realistic and genuine. There's no point in a drama when the characters have nothing at stake and nothing to learn. This is mainly great in the way that the characters all act like living and individually thinking human beings.

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  September 22, 2009

  SirPant

  I was a big fan of this film when it came out but on resent viewing, I was quite surprised by how much I disliked it. So there it is, I don?t like this film much!

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• 
  
  August 6, 2009

  cosmo313

  This is one of the greatest quirky and off-beat films of all time. It's such an odd film, but so heartfelt and compelling as well. It's emotionally complex, well written, and deatures some excellent and memorable performances. DiCaprio got robbed of his first Oscar nom, Depp is ... read moretremendous as the title character, and there are some great supproting performances from Juliette Lewis, John C. Reilly, Mary Steenburgen, and Crispin Glover. This is predominately a drama, but there are some humorous moments as well. This is also one of the most moving films I've ever seen as well, which is another reason why I highly recommend it.

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• Johnny Depp as Gilbert Grape
• Juliette Lewis as Becky
• Mary Steenburgen as Betty Carver
• Leonardo DiCaprio as Arnie Grape
• Darlene Cates as Momma
• Laura Harrington as Amy Grape
• Mary Kate Schellhardt as Ellen Grape
• Kevin Tighe as Mr. Carver
• John C. Reilly as Tucker Van Dyke

Click a thumb to vote on that suggestion, or add your own suggestions.

• 
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  Forrest Gump (73%)
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• • Arnie Grape: Tucker, she's a whale!
• • Becky: It's a praying mantis. Do you know how they mate? The male will sneak up on the female and she'll bite off his head and the rest of his body will keep on mating and when they're done. She'll eat him. She'll eat the rest of him.
• • Gilbert Grape: We don't really move. I mean, we'd like to, but my mom is sort of attached to the house. Attached is, I guess, not the right word. She's pretty much wedged in.
• • Gilbert Grape: Bobby, how's business?
  • Bobby McBurney: Oh, not good... nobody's dying.
• • Arnie Grape: Match in the gas tank, *boom* *boom*!

• In which hit movie did Johnny Depp & Leonardo DiCaprio star in?  Answer »
• In what movie did Leonardo DiCaprio star as a mentally challenge teenager?  Answer »
• What movie starring a young Johnny Depp and even younger Leonardo DiCaprio has the tagline,"Life is a terrible thing to sleep through"?  Answer »
• Which movie did Leonardo DiCaprio star in with Johnny Depp, and earn an Oscar nomination for?  Answer »

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