By Kari Bowles
The Swedish director Lasse Hallström often gravitates toward stories about families and the challenges they face. At his best, such as his feature debut My Life as a Dog (1985) and the Oscar-nominated The Cider House Rules (1999) and Chocolat (2000), Hallström can evoke what is typically dismissed as “dysfunction” with tender sympathy and insight. If the script isn’t well wrought, this instinct for sympathy can tilt over into schmaltz.
What’s Eating Gilbert Grape (1993) is one of Hallström’s best films, and much of the credit goes to screenwriter Peter Hedges, adapting his own novel to the screen. It is a tragicomic, deeply humane consideration of how personal happiness can take a backseat to family responsibility, and the challenges inherent in forming a life of one’s own. In the Midwestern hamlet of Endora, grocery store worker Gilbert Grape (Johnny Depp) is the breadwinner and emotional anchor of his family, comprised of his mentally impaired younger brother Arnie (Leonardo DiCaprio), his 500-pound recluse mother (Darlene Cates), and his sisters Amy and Ellen (Laura Harrington and Mary Kate Schellhardt). Gilbert has resigned himself to the fact that his own future is thwarted. That is, until a free-spirited young woman named Becky (Juliette Lewis) arrives.
She’s stuck in town for a week, waiting for the parts for her broken-down vehicle. She and Gilbert are drawn to one another, but what is to be done? This film would’ve been dead in the water if the actors weren’t able to sell the humanity of these singular characters. Fortunately, the performances form an essential foundation of authenticity, allowing viewers to connect with these people. Johnny Depp, in the post-Pirates of the Caribbean stage of his career, is sometimes written off as being distractingly “weird” in every role. Gilbert Grape is a stunning counter-example. Depp makes Gilbert a quiet, self-contained island of sanity, his strength only occasionally ruptured when long suppressed sorrow or anger bubbles to the surface, as they do in a few key moments in the film. Leonardo DiCaprio is almost unrecognizable as Arnie. Only nineteen at the time (and nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar), DiCaprio succeeds not only in presenting an accurate depiction of mental retardation, but in the more formidable task of creating a real character with feelings and perceptions. Darlene Cates was not a professional actor, but she crafts a portrait of isolating grief and maternal love that is as memorable as it is moving. Juliette Lewis gives Becky a kind and embraceable presence, while also serving as a something of a foil to Gilbert.
To a person bound to a particular place and a particular group of people, being able to travel wherever you want seems like an impossible dream. But that may be the core truth in What’s Eating Gilbert Grape: everyone is living the story of their life, and whatever directions it may take, the story remains their own. The people in our life shape us, but an individual is still the primary author. Movie Lovers is Bozeman’s independent movie rental store with hundreds of titles you won’t find on steaming services. Located at 200 S 23rd, next to Albertsons. •
