Film Journal #30 - Lasse Hallström’s “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape” (1993)
It seemed that the movie going world was divided into two camps: those who love “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape” and those who have yet to see it. I had found myself in the latter camp until visiting a friend in Boston and a rainy day warranted an afternoon indoors with a movie.
Thank you Netflix Instant Streaming for giving me the opportunity to watch this great film. “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape” tells the story of young man who, after the death of his father, is left to care for his obese mother and his brother with development disability.
The film is an actor’s movie at its core. Johnny Depp and Leonardo Dicaprio are two of the finest performers and they are in fine form here. Depp, like Jimmy Stewart in “It’s a Wonderful Life,” inhabits the role of a man who consistently places the needs of others ahead of his own. A young Dicaprio handles his role with finesse and class, escaping the traps of playing a character with disabilities.
My only gripe with the film is with its score. Often the music feels either melodramatic or completely unnecessary. I wish that the director had let the actor’s powerful performances speak for themselves and chose to omitt the sad-sacked piano ballads.
