What's Eating Gilbert Grape is a 1993 comedy-drama 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 the Texas cities of Manor, Elgin, and Lockhart. In a small town of Endora, Iowa, Gilbert Grape is busy caring for his mentally challenged brother Arnie as they wait for the many tourists' trailers to pass through town during their yearly camp ritual at a nearby recreational area. His mother, Bonnie is morbidly obese after years of depression... following her husband's suicide. With Bonnie unable to care for them by herself, Gilbert has taken responsibility for repairing their shanty of a farmhouse while looking after Arnie, who has a habit of climbing up the town water tower if left unsupervised for too long, all while his older sister Amy and younger sister Ellen slave away in the kitchen. The relationship between the brothers is one of care and protection.
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| Release date: | October 1993 |
| Directed by: | Lasse Hallström |
| Rated: |  |
| Runtime: | 118 Minutes |
| Producer: | David Matalon, Bertil Ohlsson, Meir Teper |
| Editor: | Andrew Mondshein |
| Music by: | Alan Parker, Björn Isfält |
| Cinematography: | Sven Nykvist |
| Screenplay by: | Peter Hedges |
| Estimated budget: | $11,000,000 |
| Adapted from: | What's Eating Gilbert Grape? |
| Genre: | Comedy |