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Johnny Depp whose penchant for quirky and unusual characters is a hallmark of his career plays a fairly normal kid in the title role of What's Eating Gilbert Grape. What's eating him is that he's stuck in the role of family breadwinner, guardian to his younger siblings, and in a most nowhere job. The future isn't looking up.

It all kind of devolved on him naturally when years ago his father just up and left the family one day without warning, or at least without warning to a child. His mother Darlene Cates grew morbidly obese, ballooning up to 500 pounds, his sisters are having the usual adolescent problems. But his mentally retarded brother Leonardo DiCaprio who is the real problem. He needs constant watching every minute, something Cates just can't do, she can't even get up to the second story of the Grape family home. It all falls on Depp.

Not that there aren't certain compensations for him, Mary Steenburgen asks for him to make special deliveries to her house when husband Kevin Tighe is at the office. But life is generally drab in Iowa for him until Juliette Lewis's trailer breaks down in the Grape neighborhood. When Depp gets involved with her she points him in the direction of a much wider world, something we all need to realize at some point in our lives.

What's Eating Gilbert Grape is distinguished mostly for the Academy Award nomination it received for Leonardo DiCaprio for playing the mentally retarded Arnie Grape. DiCaprio is unbelievably convincing as a retarded kid, to think almost a decade later he'd be playing Howard Hughes on the big screen. But part of his performance is no doubt due to Johnny Depp as well. Most of DiCaprio's scenes are with Depp and they bring the best out in each other. Very much like Rain Man with Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman.

Both DiCaprio and Depp have gone on to give the movie-going public a wide variety of roles to see them in. But they are something special in What's Eating Gilbert Grape.

As many have said, the first time I saw this slice of "unusual" life film, I was certain that the actor playing Arnie was mentally handicapped. This was the performance to end all. I have been around mentally challenged people who were the carbon copy of the character that Leonardo portrayed. I do no think that anyone else could have pulled this off without looking ridiculous. Our protagonist, Mr. Johnny Depp did his usual amazing work, but it is the performance by Leo that makes this film a must see. I just saw it again tonight, and was blown away again. Acting schools must have copies of this in their files!! Will always be a Leo fan for this one film alone.

This film starts out slow, but after we get to know the characters and their (dis)abilities, we begin to place ourselves in their shoes and the action picks up. Perhaps Leonardo DiCaprio's best performance ever, this movie is a true drama.

The focus of the movie is of course Gilbert Grape (Johnny Depp). However, there are really several focal points in the movie, all of which add to a powerful storyline. As the title of the film suggests, just about everything seems to be a hardship for Gilbert, yet, somehow he manages to come to terms with reality and in the end obtains a newfound respect for life.

With good performances by supporting actors and actresses (Juliette Lewis, Darlene Cates, Leo D., and all the other "Grapes") and a nice comic relief from the city coroner (Bobby McBurney) and the local handyman (John C. Reilly), this movie should be seen by anyone who wishes to put themselves in a place where country roads and beautiful greenery give way to the perils and pitfalls of smalltown life.

Overall great acting, a good story, and something with which we can all relate. "What's Eating Gilbert Grape" is an excellent movie!

One of the delights of having raised a family and having more time to yourself s that you get to go back and watch all the movies you missed. I am just now getting to explore the actors whose careers have been postponed, in our lives, by Ninja Turtles and Disney. I fell in lust with Johnny Depp in Pirates of the Caribbean and he made me a real fan in Finding Neverland. But in Gilbert Grape, he won my heart completely. This man can act with his eyes. The biggest surprise was Leo DiCaprio as Arnie. Amazing, and he was only 19 when the film was released. He gave an amazing portrayal of a boy who goes in and out of his own world. Juliette Lewis was a quiet storm in this film; she gave Gilbert an anchor of solid acceptance when the pain of his life almost got the best of him.

The casting worked perfectly to create family dynamics that were so very real that they did not even seem brandable as dysfunctional. I appreciated that the mother was never portrayed as less intelligent simply because she was overweight. I loved that the kids did everything they could to protect their mother and their disturbed brother from outside influences and hurt feelings. They stuck together until the end which actually became the beginning. A hopeful and joyous film.

I saw this movie a couple of years ago and have seen it many times since. I have worked with special needs children for nearly 20 years, and Leonardo DiCaprio gives an excellent performance as a mentally challenged teenager. His mannerisms and vocal inflection as Arnie were dead on. I had never been a DiCaprio fan until I watched this movie, now I see him in a completely different light. He SO deserved an Oscar for this performance. It puts that whole Dustin Hoffman/Rainman performance to shame.

Beyond this outstanding performance is an incredible movie. What is eating Gilbert Grape indeed? Oh, just a loony housewife that wants him at every turn, a mother who requires as much care as a child and a mentally challenged brother who requires almost as much care as a toddler. What is not eating him alive is a better question. The anger culminates in a harsh scene with Arnie. That scene is so real it tears my heart out.

Fabulous film, fantastic performances. One of my favorites.

The Leo/Depp dynamic in this movie is everything, they act beautifully together. A well made movie that conveys real emotions.

Small American towns nurture kindness and big hearts, as personified by Gilbert Grape (Johnny Depp), a twenty year old guy who heads a loving but difficult family of two younger sisters, a mentally retarded younger brother named Arnie (Leonardo DiCaprio), and their obese momma (Darlene Cates). These are humble, unpretentious common folks who do the best they can. But life in a small town in Iowa is hard, and it can be frustrating and confining. At times, you can feel ... trapped.

The film's theme is explicit. Gilbert is trapped in a vexing family. Arnie is trapped in a body with a flawed brain. Momma is trapped in an obese body. A local woman named Betty (Mary Steenburgen) is trapped in an unsatisfying marriage. A young woman named Becky (Juliette Lewis) is trapped with her grandmother in the town by an RV that has broken down while passing through. Even a grasshopper gets trapped in Arnie's mischievous hands.

Seeing good people trapped in difficult situations is poignant. The film really tugs at your heartstrings. In one sequence, momma must face gawkers as she leaves the courthouse. Her response is inspiring and majestic. Darlene Cates does a wonderful job in this role.

Gilbert and his family live in a modest house. Its interior reminds me of the grim, depressing house in the movie "Silkwood" (1983). The dinner table must be moved each meal to wherever momma is sitting. And typical family conversation centers on preparation for Arnie's birthday party, and debate over ways to cook bacon.

A friend helps Gilbert reinforce the wood floor under Gilbert's house, so that the floor won't collapse under the weight of momma. Gilbert is kind, and has a big heart. And he is very protective of Arnie who has a habit of climbing up the town's water tower.

The townsfolk are satisfied with fulfilling small dreams, like getting a job at the new burger barn, or getting an ice cream snack at the local "Dairy Dreme". Small American towns ... life is familial and loving, but it can also be confining. And this film reminds me a lot of "The Last Picture Show" (1971).

The acting in "What's Eating Gilbert Grape" is very good, as is the color cinematography, and production design. I did find the Arnie character to be a bit grating at times. The film's plot is slightly repetitive. And I don't care for the film's title. But these are minor issues.

"What's Eating Gilbert Grape" is a heartfelt story about life in a small American town, with all its kindness, big hearts, and familial love, despite the hardships. The film is worth a serious look, for its thematic depth, for its acting, and for its attention to detail in sets and production design.

This film is marvelous.

Focusing on the angst of an unwanted small-town life, the film follows the daily life of Johnny Depp's Gilbert Grape. He is sarcastic yet introverted, protective yet shy.

His mentally-challenged brother, Leonardo Dicaprio's Arnie, steals the heart and full attention of the audience. His depiction of a teenager trapped in the inescapable bind of mental retardation is moving and real, deserving of the 1993 Oscar Award Nomination.

Darlene Cates, who plays Momma, delivers a truly remarkable performance. Her display of motherly devotion, emotional turmoil and daily physical struggle are deserving of grand recognition.

Gilbert's life is turned around by the unexpected introduction of Juliette Lewis's Becky. Becky's free-spirited and optimistic take on life greatly influence's Gilbert's own life.

WHAT'S EATING GILBERT GRAPE is deeply tragic yet deeply real tale of a complicated family stuck in a simple town. The performances of Johnny Depp, Leonardo Dicaprio, Darlene Cates and Juliette Lewis are unmatched and truly wonderful. It is a film woven together with comedy, drama, love and everyday emotion, perfected with beautiful cinematography and superb directing.

'What's Eating Gilbert Grape,' a film by Lasse Hallström, is not your average movie. There are no stunning visual effects, no mind-blowing stunt-work and even the film setting is somewhat dull and lifeless. However, the movie is a very good one, for it is driven by its diverse range of characters.

Gilbert Grape, played by Johnny Depp (Edward Scissorhands, Pirates Of The Caribbean), does not think much of his home town. He describes Endora, population 1091, as a place he sorely wishes not to be, like "dancing with no music." About 21 years of age, Gilbert became the fatherly figure in the somewhat dysfunctional household after his father committed suicide some years ago.

Alongside his work at a struggling local grocery store, Gilbert has a very difficult personal life. Between caring for his intellectually disabled brother (Leonardo DiCaprio- Titanic, Catch Me If You Can) and his dangerously obese mother (Darlene Cates), Gilbert is trapped in a very intimate relationship with Betty Carver (Mary Steenburgen), a lonesome housewife to whom Gilbert makes frequent deliveries. However, everything that Gilbert believes about life suddenly changes with the arrival of Becky (Juliette Lewis), a stranded camper who shows Gilbert to look at the bigger picture, rather than focus on the negatives.

The acting performances are generally superb. Depp, who mastered the role of a quiet outsider in 'Edward Scissorhands,' steps painlessly into the role of Gilbert Grape, a man confused by his own emotions and the sudden changes happening in his life. However, the highlight of the film is, without a doubt, the performance of Leonardo DiCaprio. In a both funny and convincing role that deservedly earned him an Oscar nomination, and displayed the greatness that he would later achieve, DiCaprio portrays Gilbert's intellectually disabled brother, Arnie, who is currently ecstatic about his coming 18th birthday party and occupies himself by climbing the town water tower and forgetting how to get down.

'What's Eating Gilbert Grape" is a great film with a warm heart. Its characters are convincingly portrayed and easy to relate to, and the story brings the drama to great levels. Perhaps the only flaw I found with the film was that there was much of the same throughout, and the dry Iowa setting was not very appealing to the eye. However, this somewhat dull repetitiveness also serves to convey the monotony of Gilbert's life- a routine that is suddenly plunged into chaos with each unforeseen change.

Truly, this is one beautiful movie. It doesn't go for cheap tears but in the end you must feel something, otherwise you simply don't have a heart. It's about a town, Endora, where nothing ever happens. In that town live the Grapes, a fatherless family that consists of a mother of elephant-like proportions, two sisters and two brothers (one of them being retarded).

All the acting ranks from very good to excellent. Johnny Depp is so lovable as Gilbert Grape, the twenty-year-old son who tries to do good for everyone but doesn't know quite what he wants for himself yet. Leonardo DiCaprio is simply amazing as the retarded Arnie. He rightfully got an Oscar-nomination for his roll. At the time I saw this movie, I didn't know him yet, so at some moments I actually thought that he really could be a retarded actor (that's a big complement, isn't it?).

The plot isn't too spectacular, but keeps you interested 'cause actually a lot of things do happen to certain character's in this sleepy town. A lot of things the characters say and do seem superficial, but actually aren't meaningless as they lead to other events in the story. And the arrival of Becky (Juliette Lewis) and her mother make things interesting for Gilbert. The ending is unexpected, very solid and sad. And then there's the little epilogue...

This simply is a great movie: Good story, good acting, good directing. And that's all it takes. Watch it and allow yourselves to be moved by the Grapes.

What's Eating Gilbert Grape is for sure an underrated picture,Johnny Depp does a competent enough job but because of his choice of playing Grape as a numb individual could have made the movie a real snooze, but Depp's performance is actually a plus in the movie thanks to the show stealer performance from young Leonardo Dicaprio as Arnie a mentally challenged kid in the most believable, and in my opinion, best performance of his entire career. I've seen this movie after all the other Dicaprio's movies and if it wasn't for this I would not be able to believe that Dicaprio himself wasn't a mentally challenged kid because he brings so much to the table in this movie in such a simple way. I'm glad that he got an Oscar nod over this, because without that nod I probably wouldn't even know that this movie existed. The remaining characters are competent as well. Not the best movie ever made, not a masterpiece in my opinion, but a solid story that excels because of Leo's performance.

There's no doubting the quality of the acting in this film. Leonado in particular is outstanding and Depp plays his role well too.

The subject matter presents such great possibilities and - thankfully - it certainly avoids all the potential Hollywood clichés that it would have been so easy to fall into. Unfortunately it avoids them so much that it just doesn't go anywhere much at all.

The film felt like 4 hours not 2 - which I guess helps us empathise with the lead character! And if the directors aim was to get us to feel empathy with Gilbert Grape then he's done an outstanding job. I now know what it's like to feel trapped, bored, numb, like I'm just passing time. Sorry, for all those of you who love it (my wife did!) it just didn't do anything for me.

Continuing my plan to watch every Johnny Depp movie in order, I come to What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993)

"Match in the gas tank... Boom. Boom."

This movie belongs to three actors. Personally I think Di Caprio deserves the Oscar that year. Taking nothing away from Tommy Lee Jones (an actor I like) in The Fugitive, but I think he was the least deserving that year. amongst some great nominees. Depp (with a gingerish hair do) is the movies emotional core and continues to be great. His face and eyes are so expressive. And finally Darlene Cates as Gilbert's obese mother.

Juliette Lewis, Mary Steenburgen, Kevin Tighe and John C Rielly are all good but the movie belongs to those 3.

It's a slow burner and I can see why it's not for everyone, but I enjoy think it's great. No over use of CGI or special effects at all. No gun fights or chases. Just wonderful performances telling a story.

What's Eating Gilbert Grape recieved good reviews and Di Caprio was nominated for an Oscar, but the movie only grossed $10 million at the domestic box office, not landing a place on the top 100 highest grossing movie of the year.

I thought I wouldn't like this. I decided to see it because I'm a fan of Johnny Depp who appeared in some of my favorite movies [ Edward Scissorhands, Benny and Joon, etc. ] I knew what the plot was: a guy who lives with his 15 year old sister, his 18 year old mentally disabled brother who could die at any time and his morbidly obese mother always has to do everything for his family and something happens that changes his life. It sounded like it was a typical sappy drama. I usually hate dramas like that. Movies in which the only point is to feel bad for the characters. But this one was quite different.

The plot in this movie is unclear, which makes it appealing in my opinion. There isn't a lot of events in the movie, really. It all revolves around Arnie's birthday and Gilbert's meeting with the new girl. The movie is very slow paced and doesn't rely on action and shock to catch his viewer's attentions. It's moving, but the dialogues are also very simple. You might expect this movie to be over-dramatic but it's everything but that. The situation and story are extremely sad, but I never felt overwhelmed by this. Keep in mind that I can't usually handle dramas very well.

The movie is about partly about Gilbert, but it also describes life in this town very well. Gilbert's family often has a big impact on the other people in this town, so it's natural that they would be the family that the movie is about. What's also really nice is that Gilbert isn't portrayed as a hero in this movie. He has flaws, and he can make mistakes even if he's taking care of everyone. He is not the typical good-hearted young adult or teenager who's taking care of everyone and wants to give everything for his family. He actually has feelings of his own and he is trying to find himself. The whole movie is about his quest to find who he really is, if he isn't Gilbert Grape, the guy who's always running after his brother Arnie.

Another good point about this movie is the way it was filmed. The visuals are great and the way the movie was made makes us feel like we're seeing life in a different way than usual.

"What's Eating Gilbert Grape" directed by Swede Lasse Hallström (director of "The Cider House Rules" and "Hachi: A Dog's Tale") focuses on Gilbert Grape, a young adult taking care of his brother with a developmental disability and his morbidly obese mother, in the days leading up to his brother's 18th Birthday. His brother Arnie Grape, splendidly played by a young Leonardo DiCaprio, has against all odds lived past the ten years medically allotted his life due to his condition. Arnie's upcoming birthday works as a backdrop for the movie.

The film's plot seemed a little too thin to me with the majority of the film being episodic occurrences in the Grape family's everyday lives. Although this lets us closer in on the characters, I got the feeling that the film lacked the direction it needed in order to advance the plot. The dialog felt awry on occasion discernible for instance in exchanges between Gilbert and his friends Tucker Van Dyke (John C. Reilly) and town coroner Bobby McBurney (Crispin Glover). In fact, I thought John C. Reilly gave a poor performance throughout.

Director Lasse Hallström has a tendency of making feel-good films without a lot of depth to them. I do not necessarily dislike films of this format, but they do have to redeem themselves in other departments to make up for this. The strongest selling point of the movie is therefore by far the performances by the actors. Casting director Gail Levin did well in bringing on Johnny Depp and Darlene Cates (the mother) as Gilbert and Bonnie Grape respectively, both whom delivers earnest and appealing performances. It goes without saying however that Leonardo DiCaprio is the one to watch out for in this picture. His acting is so convincing as to make it very difficult to believe he is acting a part in the first place. From the mannerisms he evokes to the way he talks and does his posturing, all bear witness to an immensely talented actor. DiCaprio, who was 18 at the time of filming, spent several days at a home for mentally challenged teens where he would talk to the kids as well as observe their mannerisms. This must have been a deciding factor in how he was able to act the part with such strong conviction.

The efforts of Editor Andrew Mondsheim left me scratching my head for a bit. Some scenes ended with almost no dialog at all, and I would have wanted him to show more patience during stretches of the film. Mondsheim was Oscar-nominated in 2000 for editing M. Night Shyamalan's "The Sixth Sense", so he seems skilled enough to have done a better job with the film. The music in the film was too repetitive and dull for my taste. In addition, I thought the film was overlong. The fictional town of Endora with its gloomy atmosphere sets up the film nicely though, and the cinematography was befitting the themes of the film.

I would call this a good film, a simple one, but a good one still. It is worth the while if only to watch Leonardo DiCaprio's solid performance as autistic Arnie Grape. That the Academy could favour Tommy Lee Jones's role in "The Fugitive" over DiCaprio is absurd to me, but DiCaprio is no stranger to such disappointments as time has shown.

I recently stumbled upon the last half of one of those Top 50 Child Stars TV shows, which had a segment on Leonardo DiCaprio, showing interviews with him when he first started acting and would make jokes about how famous and rich he was, having had no way of knowing how astronomically rich and famous he would go on to be. Anyway, the show described his performance in What's Eating Gilbert Grape as one of his most charming, which turned out to be a tremendous understatement.

The film takes place in the motionless town of Endora, Iowa, and concerns the world of Gilbert Grape, whose life is in a constant state of turmoil. He works for a tiny local general store that has come under the competitive strain of a massive supermarket which has opened just outside of town. Needless to say, the store is a major topic of conversation among the local townspeople, because a big store in a town like Endora is big news.

I think the real charm of the movie lies in the fact that it is able to portray what you normally might consider to be a highly dysfunctional family and make them charming and, in the context of the town and world they live in, lovable. All of the problems that the family suffers on a daily basis are right at the forefront throughout the film, but no one ever really seems unhappy, except for the mother, and we get the feeling that her unhappiness is both the cause and the result of her morbid obesity. We get a brief explanation of how she came to be so heavy, but not really much more than, "I wasn't always like this."

Gilbert is about 21 and seems to be the only one mature (and mentally and physically able) enough to hold the family together, and the majority of the movie focuses on his struggles to do that in normal life. He is in charge of his mentally retarded brother Arnie (DiCaprio), has to periodically subdue his intolerably obnoxious sister, who looks like she belongs in a different family and a different society (and she believes that, too), while at the same time getting to work on time, hanging out at coffee shops with his similarly offbeat friends talking about the undertaking business. In between all of this, a local desperate housewife periodically orders groceries for delivery from the general store where he works, and she tends to be a little less desperate after he leaves.

It seems that all of this normality, charming in both its daily routine and its total difference from the daily monotony that the majority of us are used to, is presented to us so that we can get to know Gilbert, his daily life, and his family, as they are before the cataclysmic arrival of Becky (Juliette Lewis). Becky is on a vacation of sorts with her mother and stops in Endora long enough for her and Gilbert to develop a romantic interest in each other, and she thereby breaks the series of monotonies which the first part of the movie introduced us to. Monotonies which may have continued forever had she not arrived.

There are a series of events that take place after Becky arrives as Gilbert tries to assimilate her into his well-established life, testing the waters and taking new risks that he would never have even considered before, and learning something about himself from the results, as we all do.

The Grapes are a family that would very likely knock you off your feet if you were to run into almost any of them in person, but the movie is so good at treating them as humans that they are not a spectacle at all, even when Arnie is repeatedly climbing the local water tower, much to the chagrin of the local police force, who have been promised repeatedly that this is the last time. It never is, and when we see Arnie up there on the tower, we cheer for him, and the reason we cheer for him is the same reason why the movie is so effective.

We don't cheer for him because we identify with his struggle against a couple of grumpy cops, but as though he has made an accomplishment, because in his mind, he has.

Slightly askew fairy tale from director Lasse Halstrom, who thankfully has abandoned his penchant for overwrought irony and comic nastiness, has a big heart but one that isn't always well-placed. Dedicated to his mentally backward brother and reclusive, overweight mother, grocery worker Gilbert Grape (a nicely understated Johnny Depp) rethinks his life after meeting an attractive young woman passing through town. The film has finely-balanced little moments that spring up at you, however Mary Steenburgen's role as a cheating wife isn't really necessary (it's just there to give us some input into Gilbert's situation), but Juliette Lewis, John C. Reilly and Crispin Glover are very charming as Gilbert's friends. Leonardo DiCaprio...you gotta hand it to him, he pulls off a tricky role with amazing aplomb. Hallstrom's film doesn't always strike the chords it wants to, and occasionally it seems to intentionally wobble while juggling its emotional priorities. Some scenes that should cut deep don't (as with Gilbert shopping at the competition and getting caught by his boss, or with Gilbert letting neighborhood kids get a peek at his mother). Still, a pleasant, thought-provoking outing, one that is nonchalant about its emotions (and its brains). It isn't a heady mix of dramatic ideas, but it does leave you with something--thoughts that may return to you a day or so after seeing it. **1/2 from ****

A remarkable film that once viewed, will leave an indelible impression on your heart, your mind, your spirit. Set in a run down, going nowhere town, amidst a population of largely rundown, going nowhere people, Gilbert Grape takes us on a journey through the everyday life of one family in which each member is struggling to find his identity. Johnny Depp as Gilbert is at his finest, sensitive and lovingly protective of his mentally challenged younger brother, Arnie, less understanding of the plight of his grossly overweight mother played brilliantly by Darlene Cates. Gilbert just wants a normal life, a life he seems resigned to being deprived of. He seeks solace in the attentions of a wandering housewife played by Mary Steenburgen. Enter Juliette Lewis as Becky, who captures his heart, personifying all the passion for life and freedom of spirit Gilbert aspires to. There are many memorable moments in this film, moments you cannot forget, but suffice it to say, What's Eating Gilbert Grape will leave you feeling grateful for everything you ever took for granted, especially those you love!

Leo is amazing, but there isn't much else to this movie. The performances are just "alright" and the girl, Becky, is boring and a weird character. It's almost like the director said "ok be different and weird just because." This is a slow movie, which I usually don't mind but there isn't much to keep you interested in here. There is Leo (Arnie Grape) to be interested by but they kind of just use him as a way to show how miserable Gilbert's life is. Leo saves this movie from being a pointless and corny disaster. It's just not very good or special.

A remarkable story about family, love, feeling lost and finding your way back. The moving storyline was enriched by the heart wrenching performance delivered by Leonardo DiCaprio. His and Johnny Depp's chemistry creates an emotional vicinity like no other. A truly incredible film that will never age.

Definitely a poignant little film. Depp was really good here. I'm not a big fan of Leonardo DiCaprio, but you have to hand it to him for this performance. He plays the retarded brother extremely well. It wasn't pretty; in fact it's kind of hard to watch, but I can't begrudge him his Oscar nomination. The film may seem slow to some, just some (very) offbeat characters in a small town, but it held my attention. Oh, yeah, Mary Steenburgen was beautiful and seductive, as always.

In the eighties and nineties there was a popular series of children's books about the "Garden Gang", characters based upon fruit and vegetables with alliterative names such as Oscar Orange, Robert Raspberry, Colin Cucumber or Gertrude Gooseberry. Gilbert Grape sounds as though he should be a character from that series, but he is in fact a young man living in the small town of Endora, Iowa. (Was the town named after Agnes Moorehead's character in "Bewitched"?) Gilbert finds himself at the head of a family which can only be described as dysfunctional. His father is dead; we later learn that his death was in fact suicide. His mother Bonnie is morbidly obese and has not set foot outside her house for several years. His elder brother Larry has left home for good, and his younger brother Arnie is mentally handicapped. (I know politically correct Americans prefer the expression "mentally challenged", but here in Britain that would just be a sarcastic way of calling someone stupid). There are also two sisters, Ellen and Amy, but they do not play major roles in the film.

Apart from his day-job as a clerk in a grocery store, Gilbert's main responsibility is caring for Arnie (normally quite manageable, apart from his regular habit of climbing to the top of the town's water tower) and his housebound mother. What is "eating" Gilbert is the fact that he feels trapped by the need to care for his family but is emotionally unable to abandon them as Larry has done. He has been conducting an affair with Betty, an unhappily married local housewife, but finds a more satisfying romance when he meets Becky, a girl who roams round the country in a trailer with her grandmother; they just happen to have broken down in Endora.

There is some good acting in the film, particularly from Johnny Depp as Gilbert and Juliette Lewis as the gentle, sensitive Becky. Depp has never let his status as a major star dissuade him from playing quirky roles, and here his appearance, bespectacled and with long, lank ginger hair, seems quite at variance with his normal heart-throb image. Leonardo di Caprio's performance as Arnie was reasonably good –certainly better than those he gave in some of his later films such as "Titanic" and "Gangs of New York"- but not, in my view, really deserving of an Oscar nomination. In the late eighties and early nineties, however, the easiest way to get a nomination seems to have been to play a disabled person. (This was, after all, the year when "Best Actress" went to Holly Hunter for her portrayal of a mute and "Best Actor" to Tom Hanks for playing an AIDS victim).

I have always regarded Lasse Hallstrom as an overrated director. His more recent films "Chocolat" and "The Cider House Rules" were characterised by lush (at times cloyingly so) photography, but I felt that this was used as a smokescreen to disguise some very questionable philosophising. "What's Eating Gilbert Grape" is less visually sumptuous than those films; doubtless the Iowa prairies allowed Hallstrom less scope in that regard than did New England or rural France. Nor does he seem so keen to make propaganda for some dubious philosophy of life. The film has more in common with his early film, "My Life as a Dog", made in his native Sweden and which also dealt with a dysfunctional family.

"Gilbert Grape" could have been interesting as a tragic study of family life, but I felt that it concentrated too much on Gilbert himself and not enough on the other members of his family. Amy and Ellen are minor figures, and Bonnie and Arnie seem less like people in their own right than like plot devices to act as tests of Gilbert's patience. (The most shocking moment comes when the otherwise saintly Gilbert loses his temper with Arnie and hits him).

My opening remarks about the "Garden Gang" were not simply meant facetiously. The slangy, colloquial title ("eating" is here given its colloquial meaning of "worrying", with possible quibbles on the literal meaning and the alternative slang meaning of "performing oral sex") and the jokey name of the central character give the misleading impression that the film is an eccentric, offbeat comedy. There are, certainly, comic elements, but these sit uneasily with the film's more serious themes. "What's Eating Gilbert Grape" is not a bad film, rather a mediocre one, often long-winded with little to say. At one point Arnie exclaims "We're not going anywhere!". Watching this film, I knew how he felt. 5/10