Whats Eating Gilbert Grape free essay sample

What’s Eating Gilbert Grape is a film, directed by Lasse Hallstrom it takes place in the monotonous town of Endora, Iowa where there’s not a whole lot to do. Gilbert is a young man who wants nothing more than to leave and pursue something bigger. Gilbert is tied down due to his family who he must help, as they are in quite a struggle as it is. Gilberts brother, Arnie is almost eighteen and suffers from a mental disability. Gilbert must constantly watch Arnie so as to make sure he does not get into any trouble, or cause trouble for anyone else. Arnie’s mother, Bonnie is morbidly obese and has continued to eat her pain away ever since her husband, committed suicide. Gilbert also has two sisters, Amy and Ellen. Amy helps her mother and Arnie as much as she can and is selflessly assisting them in any way she can. Ellen is a fifteen-year-old girl, generally too swept up in her adolescent social life to do next to anything to help out. The film uses a number of film techniques, such as: mise-en-scene, and a variety of long shots and close-ups. Gilberts family and Gilbert himself especially are afflicted with many difficulties in their lives. Gilberts problems are everyone else’s, as they all affect him. When it comes to Gilberts mother, Bonnie the director uses a low-angle shot of her, this emphasises how large she is. Bonnie is also often shown eating unhealthy foods, and in one scene smoking a cigarette, also used to emphasise her lethargic nature. Bonnie’s troubles are not only physical, but mental as well, she eats to escape the pain of her deceased husband, and perhaps Arnie’s condition too. When Bonnie leaves the house for the first time in several years, she is stared and gawked at by the community, one man taking a photo. There is a close up on Bonnies face during this scene, this is done to show the audience that she attempts to remain strong and with dignity, however due to the closeness of the shot you are able to see the small twitches in her face which let you know she is extremely self conscious. During the car ride to and from the town there is a long shot of the car with the right side extremely lopsided, showing how large she is, another technique the director has used is the mise-en-scene, showing the whole family eating dinner at the table, and showing just how large Bonnie is by comparison. Arnie is Gilberts younger brother; he suffers from a mental illness, which is not specified in the film. Arnie constantly needs to be under surveillance. Arnie has a bad habit of climbing the water tower, forcing the police and the fire station to come and get him down. Gilbert cannot watch Arnie 24/7, as he has other affairs to attend to. Arnie is often a burden on the rest of the household, often getting lost, and generally being utterly dependant, against his own free will. Arnie often cannot control what he says, for example at the dinner table he cannot stop repeating â€Å"dad’s dead! † over and over, slowly driving Bonnie to insanity. Bonnie’s death hits Arnie the hardest, where the rest saw it as somewhat of a burden being relieved from them, Arnie was shocked, his mother was all he had besides Gilbert, and with her gone too, Arnie was having tremendous difficulty comprehending the situation. Arnie is quite out going and grows to be quite dirty often, this is illustrated clearly when he is shown for a long period of time with dirt, among other things coated over him. When Arnie climbs the water tower for the second time there is an extremely long shot of him from across the town where he is seen climbing the tower. Gilbert, while being arguably the most normal of the family is also the most burdened. Gilbert is caught in the crossfire of all of his family’s problems, and is the person who they rely on to make things right. Gilbert wishes to leave Endora and move somewhere with opportunities, where he can be somebody. Endora is a desolate, poor excuse for a town of any sort; this is shown by everything having a greyish filter and focusing on images such as paint peeling. Gilbert must look after Arnie and cater to his mothers needs. At one point it is all too much for Gilbert, making him snap and resulting in him striking Arnie in a blind rage. In one scene, Arnie continuously repeats the words â€Å"we’re not going anywhere, we’re not going anywhere† and although it is used in a different context, it is easy to see that Gilbert is thinking about his life and escaping from Endora. Gilbert is having an affair with the wife of an insurance salesman, Betty. This situation puts Gilbert under high stress, especially when Gilbert is asked to meet Mr Carver face to face. Betty then burns the house, resulting in Mr Carters breakdown, causing cardiac arrest and consequential in his death. This on top of what Gilbert already carries upon his shoulders everyday is quite the affliction. What’s Eating Gilbert Grape is the story of one man who wants to escape his monotonous life and make something of himself. With all the struggles surrounding him which he must face he is finally able to put them to rest and move away to something more. Gilbert, while having to have dealt with his mothers obesity, his brothers disability, and his place in his dead end town, is rewarded in the end by meeting Becky, who he falls in love with and ends up leaving Endora with. By the end of the film Gilbert has left his old life and is left with to pursue the life, which he had always wanted.