For this Screening blog I am evaluating the movie What’s Eating Gilbert Grape (1993) directed by Lasse Hallstorm. In this film, Hallstorm shows the conflicts and struggles Gilbert Grape must go through on a daily basis from taking care of his mentally ill brother Arnie and extremely overweight mother, to falling in love and the challenges of being the man of the house. Also, the film shows how hard Gilbert has to try in order to live a ”normal” life. Throughout this film, Hallstorm displays how hard Gilbert’s life’s struggles are by having the lighting of the film set the tone of sadness and the felling of depression.
One example of how lighting affects the tone of this film is the fact it shows Gilbert’s depression about his current situation. For example, in the scene when Gilbert attacks Arnie after he refuses to take a bath; the lighting in the scene makes the audience feel sadness towards both Gilbert and Arnie by using very dark shadows coving the faces of both of the actors. By coving the actor’s faces during the attacks makes the audience feel Gilbert’s emotions and as a result they feel bad that Gilbert has to deal with all the problems with Arnie by himself. Also later in this scene after the attack, Gilbert steps back into the darkness of the room realizing he regrets attacking Arnie: as he steps more into the darkness not wanting to be seen by Arnie which making the audience feel sadness that Gilbert attacked his mentally ill brother. As a result of this light choice, it makes the audience feel bad for Arnie because he does not know any better.
Another example of how lighting affects the tone of film is during the burning of the Grape’s family home after Mama (Bonnie) dies. This scene takes place outside during dusk and as the seen continues it gets darker and darker outside; by filming the burning of the house at dusk the background lighting naturally gets darker as the lighting of the house gets more intense increasing the feeling of the scene. By the end of this scene, it is completely dark outside and the only light in the scene illuminating the characters as they watch the house is the light from the flames. By have the only light in this scene the flames from the fire really continues the tone of the movie in the depressing stage showing that their whole life is literately going up in flames. Also, when the audience sees the fire illuminating the characters it makes them feel the emotions that the character feel in the scene, making the tone even more depressing and somber. Therefore, in the movie What’s Eating Gilbert Grape the lighting helps express the depressing tone of the movie.
