As promised it is time for another review tonight, and the second review is for the 1993 film, What's Eating Gilbert Grape. In this film Gilbert, played by Johnny Depp, has to take care of his special brother, Arnie, played by Leonardo DiCaprio. He is also in charge of making sure his obese mother is taken care of. When Becky comes into his life, he becomes irritable about all the responsibilities that he doesn't want to have.
(Applause . . . applause) This movie is seriously just fantastic. I was engaged in the story right from the beginning. The screenplay follows the story and mind of Gilbert Grape who is way more complex than we are led to believe. I love how everything in this story actually has a point to it, and there is no excess things that are pointless. There were a few points in the movie though where the movie drags on a little bit. You want it to pick up its pace but it takes a little bit before it goes onto the next thing. Now the last thing about the story I wanted to mention was the fact that the love story in this movie was good. It wasn't great and it was a little unbelievable, in my eyes it seemed kind of forced into the story. With all that being said you still root for Gilbert and Becky to end up together in the end.
Next I would like to give a HUGE round of applause to Leonardo DiCaprio for an AMAZING, AMAZING, AMAZING, performance in this film. Leonardo DiCaprio plays a mentally challenge 18 year old kid, and I seriously was shocked by his performance. If it was me I would have given Leonardo DiCaprio an Oscar for this performance because he literally blew my mind. He really became his character in this film and he made me super emotional which is just beyond great. Now the chemistry between Johnny Depp and Leonardo DiCaprio is fantastic as well. For a moment there you really think they are brothers, they just do a great job together as brothers. Those two main things being said I want to generally say that each and every single cast member in this film does a great job. I could and would not complain about a single person's performance in this beautiful film. A few people who stand out are of course Johnny Depp, Juliette Lewis, Darlene Cates, and Mary Kate Schellhardt.
Now the last thing I would like to mention is the direction of the movie. Before I get into that though I want to mention how great this movie is. Leo's performance is seriously the greatest part of the movie, but when it comes to the direction it is only okay. I mean I love the story and I love the acting in the film, but the way Lasse Hallstroöm does this film could have been better. I just felt like some of the things in this film were way to obvious and I could tell what was happening. Do not get me wrong, still a GREAT movie, but there are always little things that could have been better.
Wrapping up this movie I will say that What's Eating Gilbert Grape is a fantastic film with little flaws. It has an amazing cast with one breakout actor in the film that you would have never expected. For the ratings I will give this movie a buy on Blu-Ray rating because it is one of those movies that is a classic that should be seen by everyone because it is a MUST-SEE film. Sometime in your life you should definitely see this movie. I will also rate this movie as a perfect popcorn movie night film, but it would be even better for a rainy day. Be prepared though it is an emotion draining movie, like you have to be in the mood for it. Now for the rating out of 10 stars I will have to give this film a 9/10 star rating.
Well I hope you have enjoyed this review of What's Eating Gilbert Grape. I highly recommend this movie because it really is very enjoyable. Well I hope to get at least one more review out tonight or tomorrow mooring. So stay tuned for that, but also stay tuned for this week's Trailer of the Week, coming out tomorrow. There is so much to stay tuned for, so stay tuned for more . . . coming soon.
Noah Mark Bitney
