SummaryAfter his father's death, Gilbert (Johnny Depp) has to care for his mentally disabled brother, Arnie (Leonardo DiCaprio), and his morbidly obese mother. The arrangement is suddenly challenged when love walks into his life.
SummaryAfter his father's death, Gilbert (Johnny Depp) has to care for his mentally disabled brother, Arnie (Leonardo DiCaprio), and his morbidly obese mother. The arrangement is suddenly challenged when love walks into his life.
Many actors would focus their energies only on Arnie's tics, but DiCaprio aims for his soul. We could either laugh at Arnie or pity him, but DiCaprio makes us love him. [4 Mar 1994, p.5]
Depp puts in a reliable performance as the put-upon son who finds solace in the company of waitress, Juliette Lewis. All three deliver memorable performances along with a strong supporting cast.
Depp is perfectly cast as Gilbert, by turns sullen, quiet, and caring. Depp's expressive face has long been the focal point of his talent, and he uses it to excellent effect here. It's DiCaprio as Gilbert's retarded brother Arnie who may well get the Oscar statuette. He's utterly, tragically convincing as the boy who wasn't expected to make it to ten, much less eighteen years old.
The script, by Peter Hedges from his novel, spins out a few too many eccentricities, and the direction, by Lasse Hallstrom (My Life as a Dog), meanders. But DiCaprio and Cates bring loopy authenticity to their roles, and Depp is, as always, a most effacing star.
What's Eating Gilbert Grape is a tad too precious. One of those movies that wants to address life's quaint wackinesses, it's full of characters who are quirky, lonely, bizarre or retarded. There's something intensely earnest about the project. But there's something equally manufactured, starting with the casting of Johnny Depp and Juliette Lewis.
This is a surprisingly touching film about a dysfunctional rural American family, with some pretty quirky characters and a number of now big name actors, including Johnny Depp as the titular character, Gilbert, and carer for the disabled brother, Arnie, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, Juliette Lewis who plays Becky and John C. Reilly (of Stan & Ollie fame etc.), who plays 'Tucker Van Dyke' (a local). I also recognised Mary Steenburgen, as Better Carver - she may be more well known as the mother in the short lived US show 'Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist'. At first this film seemed no more than ok but by the end, I thought it had become really rather poignant. Its a bit hard to review in depth, without giving away spoilers but I'd say its a good film in terms of depicting how difficult teenage carers may find things, when having to look after disabled siblings and parents. There is a sad side to it and there are some mildly amusing moments too. All in all, its a fairly thoughtful watch, one I'd recommend if your interested in the story or particularly keen on the cast then I'd say it's worth seeing, yes. I certainly can't say I've seen Leonardo DiCaprio in quite such a similar role before, certainly.
I liked this movie much more than I thought I would, the plot is deceptively simple for how much is going on with the characters. I was also very surprised when I found out Leo was playing the autistic child, you would think it would be hilarious but surprisingly he gives a great performance along with Johnny Depp and the rest of the supporting cast. It does drag a bit towards the end but in general the movie is pretty solid.
The movie is quite entertaining but I absolutely dislike how they portrayed the mother figure. It is very insensitive toward overweight people. They treated her like a zoo animal up for show and I feel that to be very unrealistic especially now in day’s.