What's Eating Gilbert Grape

What’s Eating Gilbert Grape 

Genre: Drama Length: 118 min Release date: March 4 1994

Director: Lasse Hallstrom Writer: Peter Hedges

Stars: Johnny Depp, Leonardo DiCaprio, Juliette Lewis

  

Acting Styles

Johnny Depp vs. Leonardo DiCaprio

Every actor has their own style of acting, their own way of lighting up a film and enchanting and audience. This style is known sometimes known as Mise en Scene acting and every actor uses one of the styles found in Mise en Scene to depict a character. Johnny Depp’s Mise en Scene style is called wild card, a wild card is an actor that can play many different styles of Mise en Scene acting. Wild cards can change their style to fit any character, acting in a way completely different way leaving nothing of themselves and completely becoming the character. Leonardo DiCaprio’s Mise en Scene style is called an interpreter, interpreter actors are known for playing the character as if they were that character but then add a little of their own interpretation or a little of themselves into the character. Let’s start this match with Johnny Depp.

Johnny Depp

Johnny Depp’s acting style is known as wild card he can turn himself into anyone who wants to. One minute is a crazy sea drunk pirate like in Pirates of the Caribbean and the next minute he is the shy and compassionate guy next do like his character Gilbert in What’s eating Gilbert Grape. Here is a two clip example of how Johnny Depp transforms himself. The first clip is Gilbert Grape https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2zY1WRtG94, and the second is Pirates of the Caribbean https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0tApioIHio. These two characters were played so differently by Johnny Depp that it is almost impossible to see Johnny Deep in the characters.  Here are two links to interviews with Johnny Depp it gives you a feel for his personality, and a better understanding of what I mean by how you can’t see him in the character https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8l2MUkJnm8, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRLkZpqijOs. Gilbert is a strange yet normal young man, he is shy, compassionate but also lacks compassion at times. You can see this in two scenes, one is where a small child is trying to look into the window to see Gilberts morbidly obese mother and Gilbert helps the kid look, and laughs. Gilbert’s friend stops them and tells him that isn’t a nice thing to do because that’s his mother. Another scene is when Gilberts sister was playing the trumpet after beating up Arnie and Gilbert couldn’t take her being mean anymore so he got in the car threw the car in reverse and tried to run her over she jumped out of the chair just in time not to get ran over.

Leonardo DiCaprio  

Leonardo DiCaprio’s acting style is interpreter, he interprets an actual or the actual person or character he thinks how does this person talk, feel move, and act and after he finds the character he adds a little of himself to that character. No matter what movie Leonardo DiCaprio plays in you see the character he is playing plus and added hint of himself or his own interpretation. Here is a clip of Leonardo DiCaprio in Man in the Iron Mask where is plays to characters twin brothers while each character has its own personality they each have a hint of Leonardo DiCaprio’s interpretation of them inside their personalities https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=In9QzIAgiFE. His interpretation of the Arnie in What’s eating Gilbert Grape is remarkable, at the time at least for people who didn’t know him, they thought that the movie director hired a mentally challenged young man to play the role of Arnie. In this movie clip https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHEw7vxjLbE which is named the best moments of Arnie it shows Arnie in different lights of the movie. As you can see when Leonardo DiCaprio is playing Arnie you can still his little of his personality add to Arnie’s making enhancing the character.  

Juliette Lewis

I wanted to point out one more style of acting in the Mise en Scene acting group it’s called personality. Personality style is when an actor plays a character that is just like them which is what Juliette Lewis does. Juliette Lewis has an amazing personality that really shines on screen her unforgettable voice and mannerisms bring's a free sprite, yet sweet and strong presence to the characters she plays. In fact, in What’s eating Gilbert Grape her family member describes her as a free sprite. Here is a clip of her character Becky in What’s eating Gilbert Grape https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKLbd6LeUv8, and here is the contrasting video from The other sister https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zuEO1-2YLGE.

All the actors are some of the best in their field they bring their character’s to life and take the audience to another place, time, or the world, but I think it is clear to see that no matter how the actor plays the character the end is something that can only be described as magic.