Cult drama starring two very young Johnny Depp and Leonardo Di Caprio, the latter an Oscar nominee for best supporting actor, at only 19 years old. In a remote Iowa town, Gilbert is a boy who has a mother whose 250-plus-pound weight is slowly destroying the foundation of his home. He has not left the house in years and lives by eating, smoking, and watching television constantly. His younger brother has autism, unable to take care of himself and contiuously in trouble, but lovingly supervised and cared for by him. It will be the arrival of a stranger that will change his life.