Movies

Whats Eating Gilbert Grape was filmed in 1993 in Texas and was directed by Lasse Hallstrom. It is a critically-acclaimed film that featured family values. It is a story about a family living in the fictional town of Endora consisting of a morbidly obese mother, Bonnie her two sons, Gilbert and Arnie and two daughters, Amy and Ellen. Following the death of her husband, Bonnie had done very little and resorted to eating which caused her physical state. She never goes out and prefers to stay within the confines of their home doing very little activities. Gilbert, on the other hand, is busy taking care of his brother, Arnie, who happens to be mentally-challenged. He is also the one in charge in making the necessary repairs in their old farmhouse. The two girls, Amy and Ellen, are the ones in charge of the household chores and cooking.

The Grape family, just like any other family, have their own issues and concerns. Bonnies life, for instance, had been greatly affected by the death of her husband. What used to be a beautiful woman has turned into a dysfunctional mother who lost control of everything  her motherhood, social life, strength, confidence and even her disposition to handle her familys conflicts. Although she loves her children very dearly, she had neglected her responsibility of serving and providing for her children, particularly Arnie, who has a disability. Gilbert serves as the familys stronghold. His affection for Arnie is unconditional and had crossed all barriers. He also keeps the family together despite peoples judgements with regards to his family and the ridicule that his mother gets from their town. Gilbert is the Grape familys protector.

In the story, many conflicts are presented to the audience. Arnies disability and his habit of climbing up the towns water tower when he is left unsupervised had been major conflicts in the story. This had caused trouble for the family. Although Gilbert almost always manages to fix everything, their family cannot escape certain consequences and peoples judgements towards them. Still, he is capable of communicating efficiently with Arnie and strives to make him obey and listen.

When Arnie was arrested following an incident wherein he went up the water tower causing a commotion to build in their town, Bonnie had to endure the ridicule she had gotten from the townspeople when she went out of their house for the first time in years to take her son from the police station. The scene clearly expressed how a mother is capable of doing everything in order to save her child. Bonnie had faced the odds and bore the gawking, laughing, picture-taking and pointing she got from the townspeople just to get to his son.

Gilbert, who made it a point to protect his brother, had shown the qualities of a responsible and loving older brother. He portrays strength of character while maintaining his sensitivity. His involvement with a woman took a great deal of his attention causing him to commit several shortcomings towards Arnie. At some point, Gilberts neglect had caused a great impact on Arnies behaviour. Still, his brotherly love and pure concern for Arnie always leads him back to him regardless of how severe their conflicts had been at some point.

Arnie, despite being a mentally-challenged boy, is characterized by a fun-loving and playful nature. He is capable of winning the hearts of the audience not only for his affectionate character and confidence in himself but also for his pure innocence. Although his disability causes a lot of conflicts within their family and even in their town, he manages to rise above it all because he is loved and cared for by his siblings and mother. Gilbert always comes to the rescue.

Bonnie longs to live just to see Arnie reach the age of eighteen. Sure enough, she got her wish and died following Arnies eighteenth birthday. The weakness of her character ended in a quiet death. This in turn challenged the strength of Gilberts character. Rather than giving his mother a decent and dignified funeral, he chose to burn down their farmhouse with his mothers lifeless body in it to spare her mothers memory from ridicule and judgements. He doubted the townspeople would pay his mother a bit of last respect. Instead of giving them something to make fun of, he just did what he thought would serve his family best. He had good intentions but it did not anyhow give their mother the honour she deserves despite of her shortcomings.

Just as Bonnie had been weak in dealing with her husbands death, Gilbert had demonstrated weakness also in facing the death of his mother. He managed to escape from the responsibility of serving his mother for the last time and from having to face the people of Endora regarding his mothers silent death.

Just like Gilberts family in this film, all families from all walks of life have their own issues, conflicts and secrets. Even in real life, families sometimes have to live with ridicule and judgements brought about by other people. However, it is the manner and attitude in facing these odds that truly matters. Just as Bonnie bravely faced the gawking and pointing of the townspeople when she went after her son in the police and just as Gilbert did his best to convince Arnie to go down the water tower to save him from trouble, every person has the right to defend and protect his or her family. It is more than just a choice it is an obligation and a responsibility.

What Gilbert did towards the end of the film is debateable whether it is right or wrong. He wanted to spare the death and remains of his mother from being ridiculed. However, he failed to give her honour for the last time. And if he chose to give her mother a decent funeral, it would mean having to endure other peoples responses. Gilbert failed to see what might have been because of what he chose to do in the end. Still, his dedication to care for Arnie even after their mothers death somehow justified his character and principles.