What's Eating Gilbert Grape

Rating:
Summary: The Greatest Story...about the Greatest Person
Review: Gilbert Grape is obviously looking for a new life...an escape from his tiny town, Endora. In this movie, Johnny Depp portrays a small-town boy who accomplishes his goal as being a good person.

Gilbert is the brother of a mentally ill boy named Arnie(Grammy-winning performance by Leonardo DiCaprio), a motherly sister, and a bratty teenager. His mother, who he compares to "a beached whale" is overweight and ashamed of herself. In this movie, Gilbert helps his loved ones realize that they should be doing more with their lives.

I recommend this movie to everyone who has dreams to reach.

Rating:
Summary: Hallstrom - Genius.
Review: This film underlines the genius of Hallstrom, in as much that he gets two actors working together, like Phoenix and Reeves in My Own Private Idaho, or the two kids in My Life as a Dog, and you can't imagine anyone else in their parts. In this movie, DiCaprio as the near dysfunctional Arnie gives the performance of a lifetime and one day I hope to see him acting this well again. Depp, as Gilbert, gives a strikingly austere performance of someone who finds strength from the simple optimism of being alive. Surrounded by an ensemble of actors who give their all, it turns into, simply; a great movie.

Rating:
Summary: A beautiful movie that actually portrays real life
Review: What's eating Gilbert Grape is one of the most realistic movies I have ever seen. It shows life in a small town in such a way that I actually would like to go there. The acting is brillant, none of the characters can be defined with only one adjective, they are all so complex that they come across as simple. That is the beauty of the movie itself, it seems very simple but is very complex. The casting is excellent...I truly feel that this is the best Leonardo Dicaprio movie I have ever seen , his Oscar nomination was well deserved. The performance he gave as Arnie, Gilbert's younger mentally handicapped brother, was outstanding, to say the least. Johnny Depp and Juliet Lewis also gave amazing performances that make this a memorable movie.

Rating:
Summary: great movie
Review: I believe that this is the best Leo Dicaprio work I've ever seen.

Rating:
Summary: A Must See
Review: "What's Eating Gilbert Grape ?" is a brilliant film about domestic responsibility, entrapment, loyalty and love. Made for any eldest sibling who like the main character Gilbert Grape (a gut-wrenching performance by Johnny Depp). Is compelled through guilt and loyalty to step into the role of surrogate parent to his mentally disabled younger brother (an utterly convincing Leonardo De Caprio) and his manic depressive but also obese mother (a moving Darlene Cates.)

This film skillfully portrays the psychologically and physically demanding position of the family care-givers. Who's own lives are put on hold to ensure that others can live with some resemblance of dignity in a poky town where everyone knows everyone else's secrets.

The fact that Gilbert 's humor occasionally warps towards the sardonic in no way trivializes the harrowing position in which he finds himself. Without possibilities for change ,his life appears to drift along between being used as a sex toy by the high strung and intensely manipulative grocery customer (played totally repugnantly by Mary Steenburgen) And listening to his pals one of whom is an undertaker lamenting the slowness of work these days.

It is no surprise then that when changes come it is often in the shadows of death. "Gilbert Grape" is not easy viewing partly because there are moments in which the stifling nature of the domestic environment threatens to envelope the audience. Full credit to the Swedish director Lasse Hallstrom for showing us a none sentimentalized world seldom depicted in mainstream Hollywood films.

Johnny Depp superbly handsome face is able to make you care about what happens to this family. He is given added credibility by a stalwart supporting caste with well-rounded personalities who show that it is not saints that make families survive but ordinary mortals with all their flaws.

Rating:
Summary: Fantastic acting by a young DiCaprio
Review: This is the heartfelt story about Gilbert Grape's (Johnny Depp) boring yet challenged life in a small town on the far side.

He has to take care of his retarded brother, played amazingly good by a young pre-fame Leonardo DiCaprio, of his whale-sized mother, of a grocery store on its way to give in to the modern hypermarket, of the sexual lusts of a married woman...

Then, one day, a girl (Juliette Lewis) accidently comes to town. A girl so much different from Gilbert Grape's daily universe...

Rating:
Summary: LEONARDO AT HIS VERY BEST !
Review: Leonardo DiCaprio was absolutely phenominal in the role of Arnie Grape. Had I not known of him I would have believed he truly was developed mentally delayed. Our entire family thoroughly enjoyed it (over and over again). My only dislike was Mary Steenberger and the character she played (she was never one of my favorites).

Rating:
Summary: What's Eating Gilbert Grape
Review: I teach the film, "What's Eating Gilbert Grape?" at the high school and college level. It's the best vehicle I know of to teach symbolism, foreshadowing, tone, irony (all those English Teacher things that kids usually think of as BORING). Generally speaking, my students love this movie as much as I do. I only teach the film, not the novel. I was disappointed when I finally found and read the book because, in it, Momma is very much the pitiful un-funny joke that she fears herself to be. I do, however, include excerpts from the book to illustrate how differences in tone can change the impact of the story. This is the most carefully crafted film I've ever seen. Every scene, almost every line, reinforces the theme and illuminates the main characters' motivations. In my opinion, "What's Eating Gilbert Grape?" is as nearly perfect as play writing gets.

Rating:
Summary: Time to Stop Ruining Good Things
Review: Let me say first off that I saw that stupid movie after I read this wonderful book. AND, let me say that I was gravely dissapointed. Since I loved the book so much I thought the movie would be great. Other than Leonardo DiCaprio's performance, I found the movie just boring. And another complaint: They turned this movie into a comedy! IT'S NOT A COMEDY. It is a sad, moving story. I am not the kind of person who is going to crack just because someone in the movie is ovverweight. If your going to right a story into a comedy, make sure it has actual amusing content.

Rating:
Summary: A remarkable, believable film!
Review: The first time I saw this, I had never seen Leonardo before and I actually believed he was disabled. His hand movements, facial expressions and everything else was Excellent! Johnny Depp was superb playing his older brother and played his role perfectly!