Just watched this old movie... and it's really really good
Review by Christopher Null on http://www.filmcritic.com
His fans may love Leonardo DiCaprio best for his role as the scampy
hero of a ship called Titanic, but I'll always know him best as a
retard. DiCaprio's role as the severely autistic Arnie Grape -- a
role which DiCaprio owned so wholly most moviegoers thought the
then-unknown actor was truly retarded. He won a 1994 Oscar
nomination, losing to Tommy Lee Jones' turn in The Fugitive, just
one in a series of recent Oscar heresies.
So who's Gilbert Grape, and what's eating him? Gilbert (Johnny
Depp, in another outstanding performance from the film) is the
unofficial caretaker of the Grape clan, a rural Iowa family that
includes the aforementioned Arnie, coming up on 18 years old, and
the enormous Momma (Darlene Cates), a 500-pound woman who hasn't
left the Grape house in nearly a decade. Taking care of Arnie and
Momma is enough work for three people -- but sisters Ellen and Amy
don't carry their weight, leaving Gilbert to do the heavy lifting
(no pun intended).
Compounding problems are the fact that Gilbert's job (yes, he
works, too) at the corner store is jeopardized by the new FoodLand
(complete with lobster tank), he's having an affair with a crazy
(married) woman (Mary Steenburgen), and, in fact, the Grape's house
is crumbling around them.
It's enough to drive a man to suicide, but Gilbert is given a brief
respite from the chaos of daily life when Becky (Juliette Lewis)
arrives in town with her mother as part of a trailer caravan. When
Becky's trailer breaks down, she's stranded in town and turns her
attentions to Gilbert -- and everything gets turned upside
down.
On the strength of DiCaprio and Depp's performances, What's Eating
Gilbert Grape is a fantastic look at the anachronisms of small-town
life and the myriad problems of coping with a go-nowhere existence.
The dialogue is realistic to the point of putting you in the scene,
and Lasse Hallström's direction, which normally I find intrusive
and workmanlike, is spot-on for once. The quirkiness of the story
really puts the film over the top -- you'd expect to see these
people on Jerry Springer (and in fact, Cates was discovered by
novelist Hedges on a daytime talk show) -- making Gilbert Grape a
rare slice of life that you just don't get in the movies any
more.
The only real weakness in the film is Lewis, who doesn't come
across as either likable enough to attract Gilbert's attention or
alternative enough (short hair notwithstanding) to attract anyone
else's. It's unfortunate, because her arrival in the town is meant
to propel the plot, but in my opinion, Gilbert's got enough eating
him without her.