SYNOPSIS:
The contemplative, understated tearjerker Grace is Gone dramatizes the quiet crisis that befalls Stanley (John Cusack), a young Midwestern husband of a female marine stationed in Iraq, and a father of two girls. Suddenly and unexpectedly widowed when his wife, Grace, is murdered on the battlefield, Stanley cannot bring himself to share the devastating news with his two young daughters. In lieu of speaking to them immediately about their mother's death, Stanley internalizes his devastation and takes the girls on a road trip, while he attempts to sort through a myriad of conflicted and tumultuous internal feelings about the war itself and contemplates how to break the shattering news.
MOVIE REVIEW:
If there is one underrated actor which we love to bits, it’s Illinois born John Cusack. The actor has such an unassuming air around him that he effortlessly becomes the characters he plays in movies. You are not the only one if you don’t remember his as a prominent hero. In fact, his everyday man image more than makes up for the lack of star power. The unconventional heroes he plays are the people we meet in real life. We don’t really need another Brad Pitt or Tom Cruise. So when Cusack plays a widower who has to deal with the sudden loss of his wife in this movie, we totally feel for him, oops – we mean, it is the character we feel for.
The movie title says it all - Grace is a sergeant with the US Army who gets posted to Iraq for her duties. When she dies there, her husband Stan Philipps, who stays home in Minnesota with his their two daughters has to deal with the tragedy and decides to bring the two girls on a road trip. The final destination is an amusement park which they have always wanted to visit. After a stopover at his mother’s house and an encounter with his brother, a realization that his elder daughter is suffers from insomnia and his eventual realization that there are many wounds he needs to heal, the three of them finally find bliss which they never thought was possible.
Truth be told, nothing much happens during the 85 minute movie. The titular Grace dies at the beginning of the movie (no, you don’t get to see her at all). Her husband Stan learns of the tragedy and drives his daughters away from their hometown. And you know (being a non blockbuster genre), issues will be resolved and by that time, you’d already be given plenty of time to reflect on similar issues you hold dear to your heart.
Such is the power of emotionally powerful movies like this.
And it definitely helps that Cusack is cast in the role of the earnest Stan who, other than managing his daughters’ upbringing while their mother is away, also manages a home supply store. For the role, Cusack puts on a pair of old fashioned glasses and also a few pounds to look extra sympathetic as a man who has to deal with so many things in his life – all by himself. You just need to watch out for the scene where he breaks down alone in the room to empathize with him. The natural and down to earth chemistry with his co stars child actors Shelan O’Keefe and Gracie Bednarczyk are a joy to watch.
Written and directed by James C. Strouse, this directorial debut effort is highly recommended. It is heartfelt, it is sincere, and above all, it is a story which does not touches the human soul.
SPECIAL FEATURES :
This Code 3 DVD contains no extra features.
AUDIO/VISUAL:
There is nothing to complain about the disc’s visual transfer, and is presented in its original English audio track.
MOVIE RATING:
DVD
RATING :
Review
by John Li
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