Grace Is Gone

I found the film to be a very sensitive, low-key portrayal of a father having to learn to communicate with his children after his soldier wife is killed in Iraq. It is not political. Cusack's character is an uncritical believer in authority, while his opposite number is shown as an immature oppositionist, lacking grounding in the real world. In their political discussion, both make valid points but neither view is the focus of the film. This is a family tale, with the twist that it is a guy having to cope with losing a soldier spouse, not a woman. Coping here means telling his children that their mother is gone, and his struggle is not exactly new ground. Kramer vs Kramer is the obvious example of a father learning how to cope with fatherhood. Grace, however, shows a pretty decently coping Dad from the git-go. His struggle is more focused. Unable to bear telling his daughters the bad news, and unable to face it himself, he takes them on a fantasy trip to a Disneyworld stand-in, driving from Minnesota to Florida. As with most road trips this is a journey of discovery for him and particularly for his older, 12-year-old daughter. Ultimately, he finds the voice in which to speak the painful words. Cusack is masterful in his portrayal of the struggling widower. The young actresses playing his daughters are completely convincing. One thing that stands out is the minimalist Clint Eastwood score. It supports the sorrowful tale and seems almost to be trying to sooth the grieving father. This is not a cheery, feel good flick in which everyone goes home with a smile on, but it is a satisfying film that offers a realistic portrayal of regular people coping with a very harsh reality.

this is a very sad movie. it's about the American public's relationship with the war in iraq, as told through a middle American family.

great incidental music makes this a tearfest. symbolism make the message clear. great acting makes you care. you heard it here first (flicz-11/07/07): john cusack will win "best actor" for this hands down.

i hadn't seen john cusack in a movie before, but he does a great job in a role that is extremely difficult. i don't think most actors could even attempt to play it.

the movie is not heavy handed or overtly judgemental.

not a good date movie. adult oriented. very sad.

I saw this at the Traverse City Film Festival.

Grace is Gone stars John Cusack as a husband whose wife has just been killed in Iraq. He doesn't have the courage to tell his two young daughters that their mother has died, so instead he decides to take them on a road trip, perhaps not to just make it easier on the girls but to make it easier for himself.

This film was pretty good but I felt it was flat at parts and some tears were forced. It didn't have as much emotion as I thought it would have. John Cusack does a great job acting in the film, but most of the time his character is just trying to hide the sadness from his daughters. Some scenes drag on and others don't seem to really fit in with the rest of the story.

My favorite scene in the film takes place in a store and involves the younger daughter wandering off on her own. The scene is so subtle and the drama isn't as obvious as other parts in the film, but it's quite an emotional scene. I wish the rest of the film had moments like that.

Politics aren't really discussed much in the film, at least not as much as I thought there was going to be. However, when it does, it goes with the typical cliché of family members differing in beliefs and trying to get their own point across. People will probably be interested in this film because of the subject matter and the modern storyline, but apart from the cause of death of the wife, the war is never really mentioned. In a way, that's why this film doesn't work at times. Apart from the one scene with his anti-war brother, Cusack's character never gets a chance to express his emotions and regrets because he's always with his children.

Nonetheless, as a film about a father trying to reveal to his children the death of their mother, it's a good film. But if you're seeing the film because it involves the war in Iraq, you'll be disappointed because the war is hardly mentioned.

I get the feeling that people who do not like this movie wanted some large seen where John Cusack's character tells what he is thinking. I'm confused at this. If we wanted to watch movies where characters laid out their thoughts verbatim we wouldn't have an opportunity to infer our own emotions on the situation. I would have been upset if this filmed decided to tackle the issue of war instead of the issue of how modern loss can effect us. This is a film about being put on pause. When we are shaken out of our sense of normalcy how do we cope. In this case, how do you explain the loss you cannot comprehend to your children. I think that this film is powerful in it's absent of the affectation of the outside world. You have a man who insulates himself from the events and in that case you have something a lot more honest. If the film had chosen to attack those issues i think the depth of loss would have been shattered. This isn't an anti-war nor pro-war film. I think that if you go in expecting that you will dislike immensely. This is a film about normalcy and our failure to cope. I think it works. I think wanting it to do something it isn't trying to do is an incorrect way to view this film.

"Grace is Gone" is a very sad, but important film. Until I read about it on IMDb, I had no idea that it was being made. Very subtley, it slipped in and out of theaters. Finally, I found it at Blockbuster and picked it up to watch with my family. At the end, my family remarked on how sad the movie is. They are very right with this comment. In fact, this may be one of the saddest, but beautiful films I've ever seen. It takes a situation that every parent may face and turns it into a beautiful story about family and love.

Stanley Phillips is a dad taking care of his two daughters while their wife and mother, Grace, is in Iraq in the Army. When the news comes one day that Grace has been killed overseas, Stanley is left alone and clueless as to how to tell his daughters that their mother is not coming home. As a way of avoiding the conversation, Stanley takes the girls on a trip to Enchanted Gardens, an amusement park that looks similar to Disney World.

The plot, with Clint Eastwood's beautiful score and James Strouse's great writing and directing, brings the viewer a subtle and beautiful film. "Grace is Gone" definitely stays with the viewer.

9/10