The movie that made Johnny Depp feel guilty
“Describing Endora is like dancing to no music. It’s a town where nothing much ever happens, and nothing much ever will,” Gilbert Grape, played by Johnny Depp, expresses in the opening scene of What’s Eating Gilbert Grape. This film remains one of the most emotionally intricate and sentimental creations from the 1990s. Yet, if released today, it would likely provoke various reactions and discussions.
What’s Eating Gilbert Grape follows Depp’s Grape, a young man in a small Iowa town burdened with numerous responsibilities. Grape cares for his intellectually disabled brother, Arnie, and works at a local grocery store to support his dysfunctional family after his father’s suicide. His mother, Bonnie Grape, is morbidly obese and unable to leave the house.
Bonnie is portrayed wonderfully by Darlene Cates and serves as a powerful social commentary on working-class mothers and the challenges of mental health. Her decline in health and physical limitations serve as a reflection of these struggles, and the world around her shows the innate issue pertaining to the outside world and how people can wrongly judge others.
This film is so sensitive yet sobering regarding its tackling of obesity that it could be deemed a masterpiece—Bonnie’s obesity is shown as a significant challenge, confining her to the house and isolating her from the community, resulting in a loss of agency and mobility. The film depicts the complex dynamics within the family due to Bonnie’s condition, showing how it affects their day-to-day lives and relationships.
While there is some intentional delicacy at play, the movie also boldly confronts harsh realities. In a particular scene, Bonnie steps out to get Arnie from police custody. It marks her first time outdoors in years, showcasing her brave walk to the car and then to the station to retrieve her son. As she moves, she faces intense scrutiny from bystanders; some laugh, while others fall silent, struck by her appearance. It’s a poignant moment, highlighting our innate tendency to fixate on individuals or situations that don’t directly involve us.
Although the film makes it clear that bodily stigma isn’t acceptable, Depp also took issue with Cates’ treatment as an actor. After wrapping filming for the day, Depp would often ensure that Cates had all she required and bid her farewell with a kiss on the cheek. Despite his struggle with depression at the time, he would still find the time to phone Cates at her hotel in the evenings to apologise for the harsh words his character had to say.
Cates, on the other hand, felt that it was a sweet but unnecessary gesture. “I thought it was so funny,” she once told EW. “Here he is, the professional; he’s done all this stuff before. But I thought, ‘What a tribute to his kindness that he would take the time to consider that I might be hurt by what he said.'”
