COMPLETED VERS FILM REVIEW GILBERT GRAPE

 

No. 55

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How To Get The Most Out of What's Eating Gilbert Grape?

Noah Nishihara Film Reviewer of the Weekly Film Critic            Monday, 31 October 2016

 

 

 

 

 

 

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ndora, a typical American town where ‘nothing much happens’; a world created based on Iowa: this is the ultimate rural setting created by Peter Hedges. On screen, the effect is multiplied when compared with the book; and it’s a lot different too. With the background set for small town life, we discover a positive future for Gilbert Grape who must eternally keep his eyes on his little brother Arnie. At the centre of our focus is Arnie’s behaviour. The incredible proportions of his mother complement this. They truly are characters that keep us interested. Hallstrom’s 1993 film What’s Eating Gilbert Grape? invites audiences to explore responsibilities and positive decisions associated with families. By the end of the film, viewers will be able to place themselves in the shoes of Gilbert and decide what they would do if placed in this situation.

 

New perspectives and understandings can arise from both natural surroundings and people. This comedy-drama is at once a medium for mass enjoyment and a vehicle for moments of discovery and imagination by individual viewers.

What could be worrying or annoying Gilbert? But then, perhaps they were exploiting him in the film. His family, his shopkeeper boss, and Mrs Carver all use him because he has not left Endora. The fact is that if he had anywhere to go he would have gone ages ago, just as his brother had. Clearly this is to be considered by the audience (but not as the main focus). Leaving the family is not looked upon negatively.

Gilbert’s responsibility over Arnie also fuels his policy of allowing nobody to touch Arnie. This is seen when Ellen (15 year old sister) tries to stop him from climbing up town infrastructure. Although protective of Arnie, he is sometimes not as caring as the audience may have thought, such as when he tries to punish Arnie. His action is not surprising, as we have already heard his “some days you want him to live, some days you don’t” in his introduction.

In order to discuss this family situation we must notice that Arnie is exaggerated for the plot. Bonnie, the mother could not possibly have had kids as diligent as Gilbert.

In the opening credits, the two brothers talk in a friendly way while waiting for the caravans to arrive. Sparkling in the sun, they arrive in a single line and give Arnie great joy. After this, Gilbert gives an introduction to Endora, his family, and in particular, his brother Arnie. Showing the life of his family in the morning is also important in allowing contrast to develop when the darker scenes emerge in the course of the film. Their older sister Amy and Gilbert share a ‘family tradition’ of searching for Arnie who is normally at the top of a tree.

‘Amy, have you seen Arnie?’

‘Um, no, I thought he was with you.’

Viewers will think or feel that family moments are quite important and can never be repeated forever.

This film, with its ‘rustic’ glow made possible through cinematography, jumps right into the conversation of the brothers as they perform their part of the ‘yearly ritual’ of waiting for the tourist’s trailers to pass through town. Gilbert meets one of those tourists, Becky, through his work at the grocery, and a romance develops between the ‘eaten’ Gilbert and the ‘worldly kind of girl’. When Arnie is arrested, Momma is there to free him, and when the cake falls, Gilbert is there to pick one up. Gilbert has his limits though, and after learning that his girlfriend will leave on the day of Arnie’s birthday and seeing the hard work of Amy wasted and meeting his boss outside Foodland, he has to pop that balloon.

‘Do you know how much that – cost?’

‘Do you know what I had to do?’

After the breaking point, the birthday party is held (with Momma inside of course) and a final decision is made for a better future. Hallstrom creates an idyllic atmosphere in the introduction in which our attention is drawn to the two male characters as well as the natural surroundings. This is achieved by preserving silence and only playing music when the trailers come into view.

This film may initially seem to be centred around Gilbert’s ‘longing to leave the town’ and various ideas about family, but a closer look will reveal that through Gilbert’s personal life we are observing and thinking about social issues. It is naturally best to consider such ideas in an everyday life context back dropped with attention-grabbing drama, romance and comedy.

With the fact given that Gilbert’s older brother ‘got away’ and found a life elsewhere, we come to realise why he could not follow his brother’s footsteps and instead chose to work at a grocery. Even a local housewife says ‘I knew you wouldn’t leave’. She also says ‘Poor Gilbert – cooped up’ referring to his character of caring about others but rarely himself. When Gilbert does focus on his own life though, Arnie ‘nearly drownded’. Arnie and Momma (Bonnie) may just as well be exaggerations and the Grape family would not be this way in real life, but without them, there would just as well be no Endora.

Gilbert, a dependable and responsible young man wants ‘to be a good person’. As a person who may never get out of Endora, his narration tells us he is bored, that is, until he meets Becky. His lack of ambition and (later) responsibility influence his family and other relationships. He shows moments of courage, trying to seek freedom, but unfortunately has nowhere to go.

A very honest character, Arnie is the ‘helpless boy’ in the family while his behaviour is exaggerated. On occasion, he will display some inappropriate emotions which the audience will have to guess what the true meaning is.

Becky is first shown to us when Arnie laughs and looks at her from inside the truck but is introduced only after she orders a delivery drive. She has the figure of freedom and is an open-minded outsider, being the only person to accept Gilbert’s mother. As well as being a talking partner for Gilbert, she is able to ask him questions such as ‘Tell me what you want as fast as it comes to you’. To this he answers, ‘A new thing… house… Momma to take aerobics classes… Ellen to grow up… Arnie to have a new brain.’ He mentions only the basic ‘foundations’, the skeleton of his life, and he focuses on his family. Nor is this the best approach, as we all know that acceptance of the people around you is the way. When asked ‘What do you want for yourself?’ he only replies, ‘To be a good person.’ And we wonder, has he always lived for others, or has he given up?’

‘I can’t imagine how it’s been for you kids.’

‘I know what a burden I am. I know that you’re ashamed of me.’

Certainly Gilbert is not resentful of his mother in this film, but who truly ever cared for Gilbert? Either Becky or Arnie. Burning the house is a form of protest against the town which takes differences so seriously. It’s not their fault, for the mother’s size must be unprecedented. In fact, at the time the movie was created, tolerance for differences, whether it be body shape or gender related issues was not so prevalent in some American societies.

When Arnie is first seen climbing up the water tower, high angle shots are used, as well as ‘over the shoulder’ shots from Arnie’s perspective. In-depth coverage of onlookers’ responses are covered with close ups and mid shots. They clap when he comes down and only one boy tries to hurt Arnie. The truth is, as we realise, that Arnie climbed with courage. He wanted to experience that feeling of freedom and exhilaration by reaching the top. Gilbert would later leave Endora (and then return) seeking the same feeling. Must we accept people like Arnie and his world and his thinking? This event reinforces the necessity of keeping an eye on trouble makers. The second time he gets to the top, and although there is the same applause for him getting down, we hear solemn music. The police decide to take the boy to the station.

The car in which they all sit is tilted to the side. After an establishing shot of the exterior of the station, a close up of two boys stopping their bikes in surprise is shown. When the shout of ‘Jerry’ is heard, even Gilbert decides to hide a while. Arnie laughs with the gathering onlookers when they step outside.

‘That’s why she needs a cane,’ one child says.

We look at close ups of children giggling on the ground, an old man taking a flash photo and a woman pushing a bicycle with a face disdain pass by along with sad music. Consequently, ‘No,’ is the reply for Gilbert’s request ‘I want you to meet somebody.’ She refuses in part because of her past, of how people have treated her. Gilbert adds, ‘No one’s gonna laugh at you.’ All Becky and Momma say is ‘I haven’t always been like this’ twice. Throughout life, there are endured events, failed memories, and unfortunate changes which form us now. They reassure themselves that the past was different and therefore, the future is different too.

One of the film techniques employed to ensure that we never have to feel as though superior to the characters is their sparing use of low angle shots. We see Momma exit the small car, towering like a giant. Establishing shots of the house worked well in that it only showed the house in a wide shot. Reverse shots were used when Gilbert talked to his friends. Editing techniques included the diegetic sound of the next scene being played beforehand as a non-diegetic sound with good effect. The sound of the old TV playing while Gilbert drives off from the front of Mrs Carver’s house had the greatest effect. The sudden transition into the world of black and white television emphasizes the disappointment of Mrs Carver. Dialogue being played back before the relevant scene is shown on-screen also work well to indicate transition.

Why does this film portray everyday life in its simple form?

If we return to the nineties, and reconsider the historical background, the time when the movie was released, American companies had already moved out and people were finding life hard. At a time like this, the importance of strong family ties and relationships, as well as the need for real improvement that will bring happiness were the topics floating at the back of directors’ minds. This film may be advocating the importance of pleasant, moderate aspects of everyday life as opposed to the drive for making money or gaining power; definitely worth watching.