Review of What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993) by Cameron J — 02 Apr 2013

Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio is the greatest actor alive! Yeah, there comes a point or two where you have to pause for a second and just get that off of your chest, but anyhow, the point is that DiCaprio, at 18, acted circles around everyone and their grandmother in 1993, and yet the Oscars still went to Tommy Lee Jones just for doing absolutely nothing more than play Tommy Lee Jones, and he isn't even black, so you know that the Academy Awards started early with their obvious and bizarre disdain toward DiCaprio. Well, I think its safe to say that we can easily determine what is eating Leonardo DiCaprio, but when it comes to the question that this film's title asks, well, that's a bit more of a challenge, because the titular Gilbert Grape could be upset either because he is stuck in a do-nothing town, where he has to deal with a dysfunctional family that has been centered around caring for a retarded brother and morbidly obese mother ever since daddy offed himself, and where the best-looking chicks he can get are middle-aged Mary Steenburgen and fish-faced, weird Juliette Lewis, or because Native Americans are always upset about something. I can' help but feel as there wouldn't be as much controversy surrounding Johnny Depp's being set to play Squanto if he had landed the role around this time, because with this hairdo and soft speaking voice, I can't help but see him smoking the immense amount of weed that he is clearly on through a peace pipe. Maybe he should share some peace with Lasse Hallström, because the poor sucker's most commercially succesful efforts are adaptations of Nicholas Sparks books, with even this, one of his most recognized and, for that matter, cheap project, failing to make its budget back. It's not quite DiCaprio not getting an Oscar for this and about four other films sad, but it is a shame, because this film is a pretty darn good one. Still, with that said, as compelling as this film, it's not without its own issues eating at it.

There is enough lively juice to the final product for it to consistently deliver on a reasonable degree of entertainment value, yet only so much can be done to fully battle back blandness within a film this quiet, for although the film's atmosphere isn't too dry, pacing is steady and atmospheric weight is light, thus leaving many a slow spot to fall into play and retard momentum a bit. Sure, the film is very rarely, if ever truly dull, but it has its bland spells, and they call your attention more toward the padding that do enough damage to momentum on paper, without dry spells in atmosphere, because as somewhat tight as this two-hour drama seems to be on paper, in the long run, there is perhaps more filler than there should be. Needless to say, with all of this filler and moderate degree of atmospheric dryness, steam fails to go sustained as firmly as it genuinely could have if it was the truly excellent film it almost is, leaving repetition to set in a bit, though not so much so that the film doesn't open some doors to not so organic layers. There aren't too many layers to this film's plot, but this drama, with all of its subplots and thematic weight, is hardly so minimalist that it isn't haunted by the threat of slipping into inconsistency, an issue that is hardly all that considerable in the final product, but present nevertheless, thanks to storytelling's failing to take enough rises and dips to meditate upon progression and exposition before it wanders on to its next point. What might very well be this film's biggest issue is simply aimlessness, an issue that may perhaps be of a more natural persuasion, - seeing as how it appears to be something of an active storytelling stylistic choice that reinforces this film's generally effective realist atmosphere - but is still an issue, and one that reflects other natural shortcomings of this promising, if a bit too minimalist drama. Sure, the potential behind this effort is so well-pronounced because the film's high points hit some pretty high marks, which break up a consistent degree of strength that can never be taken away from this worthwhile watch, but still takes some blows from what is undercooked, if not simply done kind of wrong throughout the final product. This film stands to be a bit more, and yet, what it ultimately is is better than more than a few promising films of this nature, and a strong effort by its own right for quite a few reasons, even the relative smallest ones.

Musicality is not too heavily played upon in this effort, and when it is, we're not exactly dealing with modern classical masterpieces, but most every piece composed by Björn Isfält is memorably inspired, whether when it's delivering on liveliness, sometimes punched up by distinctly soulful electric guitar work by Alan Parker (He's not quite as rockin' as he, or Jimmy Page, or Allan Holdsworth, or whoever was in "Hurdy Gurdy Man", but whatever), or delivering on poignant artistry that fits the warmth of this film's heart, much like Sven Nykvist's cinematography, which isn't exactly radiant, but frequently attractive in its tasteful coloring, especially when we find magic moments in environment whose majestic attributes are played upon stunningly. When the film hits musically it hits hard, and when it hits visually it takes your breath away, yet both score work and photography play a part in supplementing the depth of this story, which is pronounced enough without all of this stylistic emphasis, being thinned out a bit by natural shortcomings on paper, as well as some consequential shortcomings in execution, but undeniably promising, with delicate depths that could either trip up as superficial or, if played upon just right, deliver as movingly genuine. In all honesty, screenwriter Peter Hedges doesn't quite bring as much of the kick that was ostensibly found in his book to the screen as he probably should have and very well could have, but on the whole, Hedges hits harder than plenty would have in the writing department, keeping bland spots in storytelling somewhat obscured under offbeat wit, broken up by explorations of profoundly worthy themes, which range from understanding of the struggles of loved ones to breaking through emotional barriers to seek out more in life, and are generally handled with surprisingly effective subtlety and grace as compliments to rich human substance, fleshed out enough by colorful characterization that is itself complimented by worthy performances, one of which certainly stands out above all others. By the time this film was released, his face may have be recognized from the occasional television program or, ever so unfortunately, "Critters 3", but Leonardo DiCaprio, now essentially the greatest actor alive, truly broke through before he was even 19 in 1993, the year in which he outacted Robert De Niro in "This Boy's Life", and all but challenged heights in acting standards as we know them in this film, where he turns in a performance that simply has to be seen to be believed, as DiCaprio portrays the tics, innocence, ignorance and all around defining disabilities of the mentally retarded with awe-inspiringly effortless athenticity, seamlessly infused with a humanly layered atmospheric that defines the depths of the Arnie Grape character, and leaves DiCaprio to both instantly become his character and raise a sky-high acting standard that he has since touched time and again with the fewest of challengers. To say that DiCaprio steals the show would be an understatement of outrageously criminal proportions, though it's not like his earth-shattering brilliance is the only commendable note in this film's acting department, which is populated with compelling talents, such as such other show-stealers as the deeply moving Darlene Cates, and the charismatic, when not subtly effective leading man Johnny Depp. The onscreen performances do a lot to power this very human drama, yet aren't too much more than back-up for a certain offscreen performance that is also worthwhile, for although Lasse Hallström's direction is flawed, it is quite strong, gracing the film's atmosphere with an immense charm that does about as much as it can to liven up the dry spells in Hallström's storytelling, as well as a subtle poignancy that charges most beats to this human drama with a heartwarming genuineness that could have easily devolved the sentimentality that occasional lurks its way into things, yet is more battled back than they say, especially by highlights in resonance that range from scenes of breakthrough for our leads, to an ending that is nothing short of tear-jerkingly powerful. Excellent moments such as those are limited in this naturally flawed and aimless opus, which falls just short of genuinely excellent because of its hiccups, but nonetheless carries on as borderline excellent, with charm and depth that is just genuine enough to make the final product genuinely moving.

Overall, slow spells call more to your attention padding that is itself supplementary to the repetition that eventually grows into aimlessness, thus leaving you to meditate upon the natural shortcomings that pull the final product back from excellent, but go fought back enough by fine score work and cinematography, clever and thematically effective writing, compelling performances, - the most compelling of which being by Johnny Depp, Darlene Cates and the phenomenal Leonardo DiCaprio - and inspired direction for "What's Eating Gilbert Grape" to reward as a reasonably entertaining and certainly poignant study on embracing yourself and your loved ones in order to find a path to any place the world has to offer.

3.25/5 - Strong.