<Tr> <Th> Box office </Th> <Td> $10 million </Td> </Tr> <P> What's Eating Gilbert Grape is a 1993 American drama film directed by Lasse Hallström and starring Johnny Depp, Juliette Lewis, Darlene Cates, and Leonardo DiCaprio . The film follows 24 - year - old Gilbert (Depp), a grocery store clerk caring for his morbidly obese mother (Cates) and his mentally impaired younger brother (DiCaprio) in a sleepy Midwestern town . Peter Hedges wrote the screenplay, adapted from his 1991 novel of the same name . The film was well - received; DiCaprio received his first Academy Award nomination for his role . </P> <P> In the small town of Endora, Iowa, Gilbert Grape (Johnny Depp) is busy caring for Arnie (Leonardo DiCaprio), his mentally challenged brother, as they wait for the many tourists' trailers to pass through town during an annual Airstreamer's Club gathering at a nearby recreational area . His father hanged himself seven years earlier, and since then his mother, Bonnie (Darlene Cates), has spent most of her days on the couch watching TV and eating . With Bonnie unable to care for her children on her own due to her morbid obesity, Gilbert has taken responsibility for repairing the old house and looking after Arnie, who has a habit of climbing the town water tower, while his sisters Amy (Laura Harrington) and Ellen (Mary Kate Schellhardt) do the rest . The relationship between the brothers is of both care and protection, as Gilbert continually enforces the "nobody touches Arnie" policy . A new FoodLand supermarket has opened, threatening the small Lamson's Grocery where Gilbert works . In addition, Gilbert is having an affair with a married woman, Betty Carver (Mary Steenburgen). </P> <P> The family is looking forward to Arnie's 18th birthday . A young woman named Becky (Juliette Lewis) and her grandmother are stuck in town when the International Harvester Travelall pulling their trailer breaks down . Gilbert's unusual life circumstances threaten to get in the way of their budding romance . In order to spend time with Becky to watch the sunset, Gilbert leaves Arnie alone in the bath . He returns home late and finds that Arnie is still in the bath the following morning, shivering in the (now cold) water; his guilt is compounded by his family's anger . His affair with Betty ends when she leaves town in search of a new life following her husband's death--he drowned in the family's wading pool after suffering a heart attack . Becky becomes close to both Gilbert and Arnie . While they are distracted during one of their talks, Arnie returns to the water tower that he is always trying to climb . Arnie is arrested after being rescued from the top of the tower, causing his mother--who has not left the house in seven years--to become the object of pointing, laughing, and gawking from the townspeople as she goes to the police station, forcing Arnie's release . </P>

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