Genre: | drama |
Directed by: | Lasse Hallström |
Produced by: | David Matalon Bertil Ohlsson Meir Teper |
Screenplay by: |
Peter Hedges |
Starring: | Johnny Depp Juliette Lewis Leonardo DiCaprio Darlene Cates Mary Steenburgen Laura Harrington Mary Kate Schellhardt Kevin Tighe John C. Reilly Crispin Glover |
Music by: | Alan Parker |
Cinematography: | Sven Nykvist |
Edited by: | Andrew Mondshein |
Distributed by: | Paramount Pictures (USA) |
What's Eating Gilbert Grape is a 1993 film directed by Lasse Hallström and starring Johnny Depp, Juliette Lewis and Leonardo DiCaprio. Peter Hedges wrote the screenplay adapted from his 1991 novel of the same name. It was filmed in Manor, Texas.
The film received positive reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, 32 out of 36 reviewers marked the film as "fresh", thus giving it a mark of 90%. New York Times film critic Janet Maslin praised DiCaprio's performance, writing "the film's real show-stopping turn comes from Mr. DiCaprio, who makes Arnie's many tics so startling and vivid that at first he is difficult to watch.... The performance has a sharp, desperate intensity from beginning to end." Roger Ebert of Chicago Sun-Times described it as "..one of the most enchanting films of the year" and said that DiCaprio deserved to win the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for which he was nominated. Todd McCarthy of Variety found the film a "bemused view on life" and remarked that "Depp manages to command center screen with a greatly affable, appealing characterization." Washington Post's Desson Howe thought the film was an earnest but highly predictable effort. Film Review praised Leonardo DiCaprio as the mentally handicapped brother, calling it "a performance of astonishing innocence and spontaneity", bringing "a touching credibility to a very difficult part". Film Review quoted the actor:
"I had to really research and get into the mind of somebody with a disability like that. So I spent a few days at a home for mentally retarded teens. We just talked and I watched their mannerisms. People have these expectations that mentally retarded children are really crazy, but it's not so. It's refreshing to see them because everything's so new to them."
In addition to DiCaprio's first Academy Award nomination in this film, he was nominated for a Golden Globe Award. He also won the Best Supporting Actor Award from the National Board of Review.
The film had a limited release on December 17, 1993 and wide release on March 4, 1994. The wide release garnered $2,104,938 on first weekend. Total domestic gross for the film was $10,032,765.
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