Gilbert Grape (Johnny Depp) has a pretty rough life. Living in a small town in the middle of nowhere, Iowa, most of his day is taken up with working in the local grocery store, as well as looking after his younger, profoundly disabled, brother Arnie (Leonardo DiCaprio).
Sure, he has help from sisters Amy (Laura Harrington) and Ellen (Mary Kate Schellhardt), and the love and support of their mother Bonnie (Darlene Cates). But given that his mother hasn’t left the house since their father died many years earlier, and has become more and more overweight to the point that she doesn’t even leave the couch, she isn’t as much help as he would like.
Add to this existence a sordid affair with married woman Betty Carver (Mary Steenburgen) and being a friend to handyman Tucker (John C. Reilly), and it seems that his life couldn’t get any more difficult.
And Arnie is incredibly difficult to care for. His eighteenth birthday is fast approaching, and yet he is unable to do virtually anything for himself.
It isn’t until new girl Becky (Juliette Lewis) and her grandmother come to town - after their camper breaks down just outside the city limits - that Gilbert’s life starts to look like it may have some good in it after all.
The screenplay - written by Peter Hedges and based on his own novel - is very good. The characters are all clearly defined and all have a very rich history with one another and with the town. The pacing of the film is just right, and nothing feels as though it doesn’t absolutely need to be there.
Sven Nykvist’s cinematography is incredible, with beautiful sweeping shots of the scenery throughout, and unique shots and camera angles abound. The whole film - despite some of these wide shots of the Iowa landscape - feels incredibly intimate, and the viewer feels very much a part of the action, with plenty of close shots and moving camera.
Björn Isfält’s music is used very sparingly, and to great effect. There is a theme - or leitmotif - that is used several times throughout the film, any time that Gilbert and Arnie are sharing a particularly tender moment. The theme varies in its instrumentation each time, but it is nevertheless the same, and serves to ground the entire story around these two brothers, whose love for one another is one of the strongest central themes of the film.
The performances of the entire cast are absolutely incredible, in particular Depp and DiCaprio. DiCaprio was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, and with very good reason. Sadly, he missed out on the award, as it was given instead to Tommy Lee Jones for The Fugitive, which I believe was a mistake; this performance was far superior. He did, however, win a Golden Globe for his portrayal, which is so incredibly realistic, but also is pulled off without the slightest hint of caricature or mockery.
Another standout performance is that of Darlene Cates, playing the mother to this family. Her love for all her children, but particularly Arnie, is shown so strongly at various moments (I won’t go into detail, I’ll let you discover those for yourself if you haven’t already seen this film) that it brings tears to your eyes.
In fact, I must confess I spent most of the film in tears; the performances of the entire cast are just so realistic and heartfelt, and the script is just so damn good.
Lasse Hallström - who I must admit I only knew previously from the film Chocolat, though he has directed many other great movies - has made an amazing film here, a film that should have received many more awards and accolades than it did. I for one know I will be watching this many more times, and I would advise you to do the same.
9 out of 10.
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