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What's Eating Gilbert Grape
Lasse Hallstrom, probably best known for directing the enchanting Chocolat, actually knocked it out of the park seven years earlier with What's Eating Gilbert Grape, an emotionally charged melodrama that had my stomach in knots for the majority of the running time until the final act, where I found myself seriously fighting tears.
The setting is a fictional one horse town called Endora, where we meet Gilbert Grape (Johnny Depp) a charming and hard working young man caught in a dead end existence because of his mother (Darlene Cates), a morbidly obese woman who hasn't stepped foot out of her run
down home in seven years and Arnie (Oscar winner Leonardo DiCaprio), his mentally-challenged brother who Gilbert barely has control of and has to constantly rescue him from dangerous situations. Gilbert is also the sexual obsession of an unhappy housewife (Oscar winner Mary Steenburgen) to whom he delivers groceries.
Peter Hedges was allowed to adopt his own novel into a viable screenplay rich with unpredictability that doesn't feel the need to explain everything, leaving several plot points to the viewers' imagination. The screenplay definitely avoids backstory regarding Gilbert and Arnie's father and also never really lets us in on whether or not Steenburgen's husband knows about her and Gilbert. Darlene's weight affecting the foundation of the house was a shocking turn I didn't see coming as well as the event that actually motivates the mother to leave the house. Arnie's off the wall and sometimes dangerous behavior rivets the viewer, wondering how long he can survive like this.
Hallstrom creates a visually arresting canvas on which the story appears, creating another of those small town atmospheres where everybody knows everybody and nothing is a secret in Endora, with the possible exception of Gilbert's affair with the married woman and whether or not her husband knew about it. And we never really find out and I loved that. The way Arnie's family members all treat him a little differently was refreshing as well. The younger sister's feelings of shame and being neglected because of Arnie rang especially true. There are some truly heartbreaking moments in this film that I don't want to spoil by talking about them here, but this was a unique film experience that enveloped me from opening to closing credits.
Johnny Depp offers one of his richest performances in the title role and a 19 year old Leonardo DI Caprio's bold and unhinged performance as Arnie earned him his first Golden Globe and Oscar nominations. Steenburgen gives one of the strongest performances as the frustrated housewife, but the real revelation here was Darlene Cates as the overweight matriarch. Cates was discovered after an appearance on Sally Jessy Raphael's talk show and delivered a performance here that defies description. A bold and breathtaking motion picture experience that left me limp.
Lasse Hallstrom, probably best known for directing the enchanting Chocolat, actually knocked it out of the park seven years earlier with What's Eating Gilbert Grape, an emotionally charged melodrama that had my stomach in knots for the majority of the running time until the final act, where I found myself seriously fighting tears.
The setting is a fictional one horse town called Endora, where we meet Gilbert Grape (Johnny Depp) a charming and hard working young man caught in a dead end existence because of his mother (Darlene Cates), a morbidly obese woman who hasn't stepped foot out of her run
down home in seven years and Arnie (Oscar winner Leonardo DiCaprio), his mentally-challenged brother who Gilbert barely has control of and has to constantly rescue him from dangerous situations. Gilbert is also the sexual obsession of an unhappy housewife (Oscar winner Mary Steenburgen) to whom he delivers groceries.
Peter Hedges was allowed to adopt his own novel into a viable screenplay rich with unpredictability that doesn't feel the need to explain everything, leaving several plot points to the viewers' imagination. The screenplay definitely avoids backstory regarding Gilbert and Arnie's father and also never really lets us in on whether or not Steenburgen's husband knows about her and Gilbert. Darlene's weight affecting the foundation of the house was a shocking turn I didn't see coming as well as the event that actually motivates the mother to leave the house. Arnie's off the wall and sometimes dangerous behavior rivets the viewer, wondering how long he can survive like this.
Hallstrom creates a visually arresting canvas on which the story appears, creating another of those small town atmospheres where everybody knows everybody and nothing is a secret in Endora, with the possible exception of Gilbert's affair with the married woman and whether or not her husband knew about it. And we never really find out and I loved that. The way Arnie's family members all treat him a little differently was refreshing as well. The younger sister's feelings of shame and being neglected because of Arnie rang especially true. There are some truly heartbreaking moments in this film that I don't want to spoil by talking about them here, but this was a unique film experience that enveloped me from opening to closing credits.
Johnny Depp offers one of his richest performances in the title role and a 19 year old Leonardo DI Caprio's bold and unhinged performance as Arnie earned him his first Golden Globe and Oscar nominations. Steenburgen gives one of the strongest performances as the frustrated housewife, but the real revelation here was Darlene Cates as the overweight matriarch. Cates was discovered after an appearance on Sally Jessy Raphael's talk show and delivered a performance here that defies description. A bold and breathtaking motion picture experience that left me limp.