What's Eating Gilbert Grape

          The movie What's Eating Gilbert Grape, centers primarily around a family dealing with trials and tribulations as well as the loss of a loved one. This family, known as the Grapes, lives in the bleak, boring, isolated town of Endora. During the beginning of the film, Gilbert says that "living in Endora is like dancing to no music."Everything surrounding the family, from the town itself to the house in which they are living in, represents the struggles the family faces with daily. The family's house is a good example of how broken down the family's inner relationships are with one another and how there is no control, no stability, inside the family.

(Grape's Home)

The town of Endora is uneventful and monotonous. There's close to nothing to do inside the town other than work and look after Arnie for young Gilbert Grape. It is this boredom that leads to Gilbert having a secret affair with a housewife known as Betty Carver (seen below). It is seen through Gilbert's obvious mannerisms around Betty that he isn't interested in her like he once was and continues the affair simply because of how bored he is.

(Endora)

(Betty Carver)

          Gilbert's mother is also a good example of how seeing how broken down the family is on the inside. Gilbert's mother was once "the most beautiful thing in Endora." However, it was after the father's suicide where things turned for the worse with the family and lose control. The mother never left the house again and Gilbert had to take on the role of being dad, helping maintain the breaking house and ultimately watching after Arnie. The mother, who is obese, is quite literally causing an effect on the wearing of the house. Her extreme weight is breaking the floorboards underneath the couch where she spends her days. 

(Gilbert's Mother)

Overall, this was a great movie to start off the year and I really enjoyed watching it in class. Just like every movie, there is a riddle with film techniques that helps to convey a broader, deeper meaning to the film. I'd strongly recommend it to anybody who would enjoy a movie that's both humorous as well as dramatic.