Gilbert Grape, (Johnny Depp) lives in Andora with his mum, his brother Arnie, (a young Leonardo DiCaprio) and two sisters. Momma Grape is morbidly obese and she cannot leave her house. Arnie is mentally challenged and the whole family have to look after Momma and make sure that her meals are ready and they collectively look after Arnie who is hopefully going to make his 18th birthday soon. The story brings us into the bosom of the Grape family and lets us know how Gilbert is feeling in particular. The interesting thing about this film is that you bond with the characters, Arnie becomes lovable, you feel sorry for Momma and you care about them all. There is no over-acting and the pace is slow but careful and I just sat back and enjoyed every minute like a fly on the wall docu-soap. Pure joy.
Leonardo DiCaprio stars as the famous millionaire, film producer, playboy, recluse Howard Hughes. This biopic of his life shows his obsession with airplanes and his decay into the neurotic OCD obsessive weirdo that we read about in the newspapers and wondered how anyone could keep bottles of their own piss and grow their nails until they were so long their fingers can’t function. Leonardo plays Hughes so well in fact that after the neuroses creep in you have bought into it and don’t think of him as leo anymore. You can watch the transformation into the germaholic from the very beginning. Cate Blanchett does the Katherine Hepburn larger than life droll voice and manly mannerisms very well for someone who does not resemble Hepburn. Kate Beckinsale simply looks like Ava Gardner. It is not the usual Scorcese film set. We are shown Hollywood elitism and time is spent in the air rather than on the ground and, these scenes are rather good, notably a crash landing just short of the Beverly Hills Wiltshire Hotel as was back then. We are in technicolour it seems with strange colours being brought out reminiscent of the Wizzard of Oz. Well over 2 hours this movie does not feel as long as it really is and I would probably watch it again just to see DiCaprio carrying yet another film to victory. Other famous faces, Jude law, Alec Baldwin and Gwen Steffani also star. Scorsese never relies on fresh blood. In summary, a detailed and authentic biopic of Hughes’extraordinary life.
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Written by Hilary Gonen and Tim Volonakis.
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