“What’s Eating Gilbert Grape” Film Review

The buck Whats eating Gilbert Grape, based on the novel by Peter Hedges, is an stunned of the ordinary middleweight observation of a dysfunctional, although regular family. The pack has some lamentable scenes which take the auditory modality a management from the reoccurring humour of the Grapes ways.Set in Endora, which is describe as being like dancing with no music, the most elicit thing that happens throughout the film is Arnies 18th Birthday Party and the stretch of the Burger Barn.Arnie, Gilberts (Johnny Depp) mentally handicapped br separate, always finds a way to escape Gilberts watching eyes and climb up the tempting water tower. This is his way of get in trouble with the cops, not shop lifting or drug voltaic pileing, nevertheless just exploring the local water tower. And when the police finally arrest him it causes his calciferol pound mother (Darlene Cates) to leave the house after seven geezerhood and demand for her precious son back. The director, Lasse Ha llstrom, is really clever in how he uses humour and pathos in this scene. On the familys way to the s stopping point off the audience is able to laugh as the car tips up, nearly scraping the road, weighed grim by the angry 500lb angry mother. However, on their way out of the station they find themselves neighborhood of a freak show, leaving the audience to chance horror and sympathy.Gilbert as well as has many of other responsibilities as hale as keeping a constant watchful eye on Arnie earning the money, maintaining the house and caring for his overweight mother and his two sisters. These things play heavily on his mind which is why his secret affair with Mrs. Carver (Mary Steenburgen) is very welcome at first. However when a free-spirited beautiful young adult female arrives in a RV with her grandmother (Penelope Branning), the affair has to come to an end, helped by the death of Mrs. Carvers husband, who has formerly been threatening Gilbert.Becky, played by Juliette Lew is, is a gross char answerer someone like Gilbert has never met before. Becky and her Grandmother hurt been travelling almost everywhere and stop in Endora long sufficiency for Becky and Gilbert to get to know each other very well up and to start a romance. The arrival of Becky, however, changes the Grapes routine and way of life.This film equals Lasse Hallstroms other art house films such as My Life As A Dog and Something To Talk About. This S pratdinavian director risked a great deal in experimenting with this film. One of the things he tries is the use of a voice over. This, use at the beginning, introduces us to the characters and the setting, Endora. At the end it lets us know where the characters end up and what they do. I think this is a bad technique in this film principally because of the use of Gilberts humdrum voice, which in a way warns the audience of the dullness thats to come.Hallstrom purposely chose the camera shots he uses throughout the film to give the film it s homeliness. The happen picture of the water tower in the background lets the audience appreciate Gilberts responsibility. Gilberts truck is also another give away occurrence, which us see everyone in it, so we can observe their reactions and emotions to what is happening. This link up to the camera shots through windows. These are also very common in the film and tie in with the fly on the wall technique, which is a favourite with reality T.V programs. As I frontly said the film is like an observation of this family and this technique enables us to just watch them and facial expression like we are there with them, which makes us feel more close and we can sympathise with them because of their circumstances, as Im sure that there is a little round of Gilbert Grape in all of us.If you were a top celebrated Hollywood actor, would you be able to significantly play a mid-west, modal(a) twenty-odd division old man? In my opinion there would reach been no one better than Johnny Depp in this case. He plays the part of Gilbert excellently, not over-the-top or over dramatic still perfectly, just how youd imagine Gilbert to be after reading the novel. Compared to Depps previous roles, such as in Edward Scissorhands, he really did afford to act down in this filmJohnny Depp is not the only actor in the film that I feel played an excellent performance. Leonardo Di Caprio also had a hard role to play as the retarded eighteen year old with the mind of a four year old. He plainly researched and thought greatly about how he should act such a difficult character, just now he definitely pulled it offAlthough the film is mainly pivoted around Arnies eighteenth birthday party, the film has many sub-plots, which all have their own significance throughout the film. For instance the water tower, Mrs. Carver, the scenes in the caf and a few others. These all bond the film together in enact to make it what it is a great family film.A really important recurring point tha t is made throughout the film is when Arnie says were not going anywhere. In a way this is the key point of the whole film as only until the very end Gilbert has no choice but to stay in Endora and look after his mother and the rest of his family, conflicting his older brother, Larry, who got away and went to college.And now, the question, what actually is eating Gilbert Grape? Personally I think that it is all his responsibilities but mainly, not looking after Arnie as much as having the burden of his overweight mother sitting at home doing nothing, him having to care for her and his siblings, when really it should be the other way around.Although I really enjoyed watching this film many people didnt and have slated it in the past. I think it depends on your own personal taste in films and what you expect and want from a film. And whatever that may be I recommend you watch Whats Eating Gilbert Grape.