The film What's Eating Gilbert Grape is about a young man named Gilbert (Johnny Depp) who is caring for his morbidly obese mother (Darlene Cates) and his intellectually disabled younger brother Arnie (Leonardo DiCaprio) in a fictional town in Iowa named Endora. Gilbert is also having an ongoing affair with a local woman named Betty Carver (Mary Steenburgen).
Gilbert's life is turned upside down when a free-spirited young woman named Becky (Juliette Lewis) arrives in town. Becky challenges Gilbert's way of life and forces him to confront his own desires and dreams.
The film is a coming-of-age story about a young man who is struggling to find his place in the world. It is also a story about family, responsibility, and love.
The film was critically acclaimed and was nominated for several awards, including an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for Leonardo DiCaprio. It is considered to be one of the best films of the 1990s.
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Cast
- Johnny Depp as Gilbert Grape
- Leonardo DiCaprio as Arnold "Arnie" Grape
- Juliette Lewis as Rebecca "Becky"
- Mary Steenburgen as Elizabeth "Betty" Carver
- Darlene Cates as Bonnie Grape
- Laura Harrington as Amy Grape
- Mary Kate Schellhardt as Ellen Grape
- Kevin Tighe as Kenneth "Ken" Carver
- John C. Reilly as Tucker Van Dyke
- Crispin Glover as Robert "Bobby" McBurney
- Penelope Branning as Becky's Grandma
- Libby Villari as the Waitress
Director: Lasse Hallström
Writer: Peter Hedges
Box Office Gross: $10,032,765
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Genre: Drama
Release Date: December 17, 1993