What’s eating Gilbert Grape
About the Film
In the tiny, going-nowhere town of Endora, Iowa, Gilbert Grape holds his fracturing family together. He clerks at the dying local grocery, quietly cares for his beloved, unpredictable brother Arnie, and tiptoes around his housebound mother, who hasn’t left the house — or her armchair — in years.
When free-spirited Becky drifts into town in a broken-down camper, Gilbert glimpses a life beyond his endless obligations. As Arnie’s 18th birthday nears and old wounds surface, Gilbert must weigh his own longing to escape against the family only he can hold up. Adapted by Peter Hedges from his own novel.
Johnny Depp
Johnny Depp plays Gilbert Grape, the steady, weary eldest son quietly sacrificing his own dreams to care for his family — a restrained, deeply sympathetic performance anchoring the film opposite Leonardo DiCaprio’s Arnie.
Cast & Crew
Cast
Gilbert GrapeJohnny Depp
Arnie GrapeLeonardo DiCaprio
BeckyJuliette Lewis
Bonnie GrapeDarlene Cates
Betty CarverMary Steenburgen
Tucker Van DykeJohn C. Reilly
Ken CarverKevin Tighe
Amy GrapeLaura Harrington
Crew
DirectorLasse Hallström
ScreenplayPeter Hedges
Based onhis own 1991 novel
MusicAlan Parker, Björn Isfält
CinematographySven Nykvist
ProducersBertil Ohlsson, David Matalon, Meir Teper
“We’re not going anywhere. … I want to be a good person.”
— Gilbert Grape, What’s Eating Gilbert Grape
Filming Locations
- Austin, Texas
- Pflugerville, Texas
- Manor, Texas (the water tower)
More about this film
Trivia
- Leonardo DiCaprio earned his first Academy Award nomination (Best Supporting Actor) for Arnie, aged just 19.
- Christian Bale auditioned for Arnie before DiCaprio was cast.
- Adapted by Peter Hedges from his own 1991 debut novel.
- A box-office disappointment on release, it grew into a beloved favourite on home video.
Awards
- 1994 Academy Award nomination — Best Supporting Actor (Leonardo DiCaprio)
- 1994 Golden Globe nomination — Best Supporting Actor (DiCaprio)
- 1993 National Board of Review — Best Supporting Actor (DiCaprio) Won
