IMDB paints this thumbnail of the film:
"After his father's death, Gilbert (Johnny Depp) has to care for his mentally-disabled brother, Arnie (DiCapprio), and his morbidly obese mother (played by Darlene Cates). This situation is suddenly challenged though, when love unexpectedly walks into his life."It's a moving, thoughtful, and thorough dive into the 'fatigue' of life - made all the more difficult for one so young as Gilbert Grape.
The late, great Roger Ebert expounds:
"Gilbert Grape is more or less equal to these challenges, but life is not easy for him. What helps is the small town itself. In a big city, we sense, the Grape family would be isolated and dysfunctional, but in Endora, where everybody knows everybody and Gilbert fits right in, life is more possible, and the family is at least quasifunctional.I found it to be far more than a 'chic flick.' Let's call it a 'human flick.'
"What's Eating Gilbert Grape" makes of these materials one of the most enchanting movies of the year, a story of people who aren't misfits only because they don't see themselves that way. Nor does the film take them with tragic seriousness; it is a problem, yes, to have a retarded younger brother.
And it is a problem to have a mother so fat she never leaves the house. But when kids from the neighborhood sneak around to peek at the fat lady in the living room, Gilbert sometimes gives them a boost up to the window. What the hell.
The movie, written by Peter Hedges and based on his novel, has been directed by a Scandinavian, Lasse Hallstrom, for whom families seem to exert a special pull. His credits include "My Life as a Dog" (1985), about a young boy's coming of age amid eccentric Swedish rural people and first love; and the underrated 1991 film "Once Around," in which Richard Dreyfuss married into a family that was appalled by his abrasiveness.
The special quality of "What's Eating Gilbert Grape" is not its oddness, however, but its warmth. Johnny Depp, as Gilbert, has specialized in playing outsiders ("Edward Scissorhands," "Benny and Joon"), and here he brings a quiet, gentle sweetness that suffuses the whole film. Leonardo DiCaprio, who plays Arnie, the retarded kid brother, has been nominated for an Academy Award, and deserves it.
His performance succeeds in being both convincing and likable. We can see both why he's almost impossible to live with, and why Gilbert and the rest of the Grapes choose to, with love."
Directed by Lasse Hallström; Peter Hedges wrote the screenplay. Run time 1 hour 58 minutes
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