THE MOMENT

‘Momma, wake up’

What’s Eating Gilbert Grape? (1993) Here’s some appealing symmetry: the moment Dicaprio came of age as an actor takes place on the 18th birthday of his character — during a shoot on which the actor himself turned 18. And while that character, Arnie Grape, is developmentally locked in the mind of a three year old, the performance suggests a depth and level of experience far beyond Dicaprio’s own years at the time. It is a devastating, heart-breaking moment for Arnie, who suddenly comes face-to-face with that unavoidable thing we all fear: the death of a parent. For the first time in years, his morbidly obese mother (Darlene Cates) has left the sofa, wheezed up the stairs and climbed into bed. A little later, Arnie runs into her room, excited to tell her something, dressed in his party best and a bright-red visor from a fast-food restaurant. He tries to wake her. She doesn’t respond. He thinks it’s a game, giggling, “You’re hiding, huh?” She doesn’t move. You can see Arnie’s life change as Dicaprio’s face deadens, then crumples under the weight of agonising comprehension. Before production, Dicaprio spent a week at a special-needs children’s centre in Austin, and all that preparation clearly paid off here, as the young supporting actor carries the film’s heaviest emotional burden entirely alone. Even though it would take most of his audience years to realise it, the boy has, in this tough, touching scene, already become a man.