What's Eating Gilbert Grape

Name: What's Eating Gilbert Grape
Genre: Romance, Drama
Released: 1993-12-17
Duration: 1 h 58 min
Rating: 7.8
Cast: Johnny Depp, Leonardo DiCaprio, Juliette Lewis, Mary Steenburgen, Darlene Cates

Life is a terrible thing to sleep through.

What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993)

Timing: 1:58 (118 min)

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7.7/10
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7.7/10
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Everything about the movie

Video 4

Photo 88

Actors and characters

Video for the film What's Eating Gilbert Grape — What's Eating Gilbert Grape - Trailer

2:06

Photo 88

Release date

Country

Production

Genre

Budget

$11 000 000

Box office

$10 032 845

Website

Director

Lasse Hallström

Actors

Johnny Depp, Leonardo DiCaprio, Juliette Lewis, Mary Steenburgen, Darlene Cates, Laura Harrington, Mary Kate Schellhardt, Kevin Tighe, John C. Reilly, Crispin Glover
All actors and roles (10)

Scenario

Producer

Bertil Ohlsson, Meir Teper, David Matalon, Alan C. Blomquist, Lasse Hallström

Camera operator

Sven Nykvist

Composer

Björn Isfält

Artist

Bernt Amadeus Capra, Geoffrey S. Grimsman

Audition

Gail Levin

Editing

Andrew Mondshein
Whole Team (50)

Short description

Gilbert Grape is a small-town young man with a lot of responsibility. Chief among his concerns are his mother, who is so overweight that she can't leave the house, and his mentally impaired younger brother, Arnie, who has a knack for finding trouble. Settled into a job at a grocery store and an ongoing affair with local woman Betty Carver, Gilbert finally has his life shaken up by the free-spirited Becky.

What's left behind the scenes

During the filming of the movie, Johnny Depp was in a prolonged depression – he was going through a high-profile breakup with actress Winona Ryder.
The film is based on Peter Hedges' novel "What's Eating Gilbert Grape?" (1991).
Johnny Depp was very worried that the plot required him to say a lot of nasty things to “Mom,” played by Darlene Cates. Therefore, he constantly apologized to her after filming ended.
The photograph of the young Mrs. Grape is an actual photo of Darlene Cates in her youth.
To more accurately portray a mentally challenged character, Leonardo DiCaprio spent several days in a psychiatric clinic with children suffering from the same condition.
Director Lasse Hallström initially felt DiCaprio was too handsome for the role of the scruffy Arnie, so Leo had to intentionally 'disfigure' himself for the character. He got a bowl cut and wore a special dental prosthetic that distorted the line of his mouth.
The photograph of the young Mrs. Grape is a true photograph of Darlene Cates in her youth.
Because of the role of Arnie, Leonardo DiCaprio turned down a part in the comedy 'Hocus Pocus' (1993), for which he had been promised a much larger fee.
Darlene Kates, who played the protagonists' mother, had never acted in a movie before this film. Lasse Hallström cast her after seeing her on a talk show dedicated to obesity.
Due to the role of Arnie, Leonardo DiCaprio turned down a role in the comedy 'Hocus Pocus' (1993), for which he was promised a much larger fee.
Depp personally chose Leonardo DiCaprio for the role of his brother from among many young applicants.
The photograph of the young Mrs. Grape is an actual photograph of Darlene Cates in her youth.
Director Lasse Hallström initially considered DiCaprio too handsome for the role of the unkempt Arnie, so Leo had to deliberately 'uglify' himself for the role. He got a bowl cut and wore a special dental prosthesis that distorted his mouth line.
Depp personally chose Leonardo DiCaprio for the role of his brother from among many young contenders.
Johnny Depp was very worried that the plot required him to say many unpleasant things to "Mom," played by Darlene Cates. Therefore, after filming, he constantly apologized to her.
During the filming of the movie, Johnny Depp was in a prolonged depression, struggling with a high-profile breakup with actress Winona Ryder.
Darleen Kate, who played the mother of the main characters, had not appeared in films before this one. Lasse Hallström invited her after seeing her in a talk show dedicated to obesity.
Darlene Cates, who played the mother of the main characters, had not appeared in films before this one. Lasse Hallström invited her after seeing her on a talk show dedicated to obesity.
Johnny Depp was very distressed that the plot required him to say many nasty things to the 'mother,' played by Darlene Cates. Consequently, he constantly apologized to her after filming ended.
To more authentically portray someone with an intellectual disability, Leonardo DiCaprio spent several days in a psychiatric clinic with children suffering from the same condition.