What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993)
Gilbert Grape is a small-town young man with a lot of responsibility. Chief among his concerns are his mother, who is so overweight that she can't leave the house, and his mentally impaired younger brother, Arnie, who has a knack for finding trouble. Settled into a job at a grocery store and an ongoing affair with local woman Betty Carver, Gilbert finally has his life shaken up by the free-spirited Becky.
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disgusting, overrated, pointless
I gave this film a 9 out of 10, because it was exactly what I expected it to be.
A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.
The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.
Despite the low budget allocated to this film, but it really amazed its audience. I did have a look at the movie's pictures on the net before watching it, the mere look at Leonardo DiCaprio's (only 20 years at the time of filming) body language and facial expressions makes you believe he is a real autistic person. WOW! When you watch the film you realize that Leo was really deserving an Oscar for his exceptional performance; one of the most brilliant performances in the history of film ever; only the experienced Dustin Hoffman did it in Rain Man 1988 five years earlier. The film provides an authentic moral value, role model, and good deal of positive messages to how can people get through their life issues.
Continuing my plan to watch every Johnny Depp movie in order, I come to What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993)"Match in the gas tank... Boom. Boom."This movie belongs to three actors. Personally I think Di Caprio deserves the Oscar that year. Taking nothing away from Tommy Lee Jones (an actor I like) in The Fugitive, but I think he was the least deserving that year. amongst some great nominees. Depp (with a gingerish hair do) is the movies emotional core and continues to be great. His face and eyes are so expressive. And finally Darlene Cates as Gilbert's obese mother.Juliette Lewis, Mary Steenburgen, Kevin Tighe and John C Rielly are all good but the movie belongs to those 3.It's a slow burner and I can see why it's not for everyone, but I enjoy think it's great. No over use of CGI or special effects at all. No gun fights or chases. Just wonderful performances telling a story.What's Eating Gilbert Grape recieved good reviews and Di Caprio was nominated for an Oscar, but the movie only grossed $10 million at the domestic box office, not landing a place on the top 100 highest grossing movie of the year.
After his father's death, Gilbert has to care for his mentally disabled brother, Arnie, and his morbidly obese mother, which is suddenly challenged when love walks into his life.I remember seeing this one in my mid-20s... the Heart-Breaking Story is still with me... this one is a tear jerker.9/10
I saw the movie today but if I had watched this before I knew Leonardo DiCaprio is a normal person, I would really think he is a mentally disabled guy! What an amazing, unbelievable and stunning performance by Leo, what a great actor! He should have won an Oscar for this! Maybe his best performance in his wonderful career so far xp Johnny Depp was good but he could have done more. I liked the relationship he had with Leo, they almost looked like brothers for real. It would be very nice if they will be in a new movie again, two great actors! This movie told me that everyone can make a beautiful film without huge budget and famous actors...