What’s Eating Gilbert Grape (1993)

AKA: –
Directed by: Lasse Hallström
Starring: Johnny Depp (Gilbert), Leonardo DiCaprio (Arnie), Juliette Lewis (Becky), Darlene Cates (Mom), Mary Steenburgen (Betty Carver), Laura Harrington (Amy), Mary Kate Schellhardt (Ellen), John C. Reilly (Tucker), Crispin Glover (Bobby), Kevin Tighe (Carver)
Country: United States
Language: English (Eng Subs)
Runtime: 01:57:55
Genres: Obesity, Siblings-Family, Infidelity

Plot – Spoilers:
Set in a fictional small town Endora somewhere nowhere, Gilbert works at a mom-and-pop grocery that’s struggling to compete with a branded supermarket outside of town. Gilbert’s loyalty and comfort working where he does is symptomatic of his life. He doesn’t aspire or even believe he can get out of Endora. His personal life doesn’t extend beyond taking care of his retarded brother Arnie and obese mother whom he describes as a “beached whale”. He has a couple of sisters one of whom he barely tolerates. A couple of friends, an older married woman who summons him as and when she wants to secretly hurt her husband. And that’s his life. Apart from the repressed memory of a depressed father who hung himself in the basement.

Into this mundane world arrive Becky and her grandma as part of an annual tourist trailer gathering and Gilbert briefly sees a life beyond Endora.

What’s Eating Gilbert Grape works as a great portrait of the struggling suburban American family under the masterful watch of Lasse Hallström and through awe-worthy acting performances.