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John Cusack, Shélan O'Keefe, Gracie Bednarczyk, Alessandro Nivola

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... read more read more... two girls. Suddenly and unexpectedly widowed when his wife, Grace, is killed 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. Inevitably, the road trip will end with Grace's funeral. This film represents the brainchild of producer/star Cusack and writer/director James C. Strouse. It began with Cusack's fury about the Bush administration's policy banning footage of caskets returning from the Iraq and Afghani wars, and his desire to see those events played out onscreen, in the lives of American citizens. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

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59% liked it

69,848 ratings

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62% liked it

73 critics

PG-13, 1 hr. 32 min.

Directed by: James C. Strouse

Release Date: December 7, 2007

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DVD Release Date: May 27, 2008

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Flixster Reviews (2,002)

  • ceWEBrity
    October 11, 2010
    ceWEBrity
    Grace is Gone would fall completely, totally flat without Shelan O'Keefe. Full stop. The one interesting part of the movie, and it is a very interesting part, is maneuvering through her psyche, trying to figure out at any given time what she does or doesn't know. Though the movie... read more's political ideologies aren't particularly interesting or insightful - a half-baked conservative one as espoused by John Cusack, and an immature one by Alessandro Nivola - watching them both germinate and clash in Heidi Phillips' mind to produce a whole lotta confusion makes for an entirely watchable result. Though Cusack is inarguably the main character of the film, his inability to tell his daughters the truth and his quiet struggle with his wife's death is by no means the dramatic fulcrum of the film. We know that he eventually will; he must, because he's ultimately sympathetic and being dishonest to his daughters would lose the audience's faith. There's no surprise there. The true viewing experience is watching all of these tiny revelations unfurl in his daughter's brain. We get the sensation that she's known the truth all along, but watching her partition it away or deny it or try to probe her father for more information is what really keeps the plot moving. Otherwise, this would just be eighty minutes of a long, solemn road trip.

    As is likely evident from the above, the performances are great, even against the disservice of some flabby character work. I'm still not entirely sure that Cusack was the best fit for this character, as someone who evinces emotional intelligence playing someone who doesn't know what the fuck he's doing. He convinces more as the reality of the situation begins to sink into the character - I thought his attempts at playing shell-shocked when he first learns the news were a little transparent - and the raging, crying, monologuing mess he becomes actually feels pretty organic. It's like, this guy's sort of lame...he WOULD have these big histrionic outbursts after bottling in his emotions. How expected! I sort of thought the younger daughter was obnoxious, but I guess she was supposed to be, and kids crying always makes me sad because I love kids and I'm secretly a woman. I guess that sort of betrays Grace is Gone's true intentions, because despite its half-there attempts at creating political dialogue, what it really wants to be is a weepie. I didn't weep, but it was reasonably engaging and sort of sad, and not entirely stupid, so it does better than most of its contemporaries in the genre.
  • binky013
    April 22, 2010
    binky013
    I say again, John Cusack will win an Oscar for Best Actor. His time is coming. A very understated performance here, but he really is good.

    One of my problems with this movie is that the grieving process has suffered a Hollywood make-over. For any of you who've lost a spous

    ... read moree or a parent, especially in such an unexpected manner, is the grieving process ever this easy? In fact, does it ever end?

    What this movie does very well is show us a loving relationship between a father and his two daughters. It's often more likely that we see father-son or mother-daughter bonding. And I give this one big points for Clint Eastwood's soundtrack. There is some very good music in and behind the action.
  • LWOODS04
    December 21, 2009
    LWOODS04
    John Cusack, Shelan O'Keefe, Gracie Bednarczyk, Alessandro Nivola

    A husband whose wife has just been killed in Iraq 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, not to just make it easie... read morer on the girls but to make it easier for himself.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    Yes another story of another loved one being killed in Iraq. But this movie takes on a whole different story. This story is more of how it affects a family who has lost their mother/wife to a war that they sometimes question if they supported, or even understood. John Cusack is brilliant in this movie. Something very different from his past roles, and he does it justice. This movie is built by it's performances. No special affects, no nothing. Just the road and these great performances. There is a moment between Stanley and his brother that you can just feel the strong emotions reflecting off of them. You will shed some tears in this film, but its hard not to. These actors made you feel their characters pain. The two young girls were so good. So glad I found this movie. Heart breaking.. A MUST SEE...
  • romy861
    April 10, 2009
    romy861
    Good movie, I didn't actually expect to like it, but I did. Sad without being depressing, whole cast was really good. I also liked all the shots out on the road while they were driving.
  • deano
    September 21, 2008
    deano
    Quiet emotionally drama story about the power of family and John Cusack is brilliant in his performance.
  • mrbungle7821
    September 18, 2008
    mrbungle7821
    [font=Arial][color=DarkRed]Street Kings - This is a wildly overwrought and sleazy drama is hoping to come across as edgy but everything is so overdone. It fulfills all the requisite elements of the modern crime picture; double crosses, forlorn anti-heroes, bloody violence, but [i... read more]Street Kings[/i] misses the mark big time when it comes to any nuance. Every beat of this murky, convoluted dirty cops mystery is plain and obvious. If you cannot guess within minutes who the eventual culprits will be then you haven't seen enough movies. Every character is a cliché of a cliché, every unrestrained actor is constantly speaking in nothing but exclamation marks, and the dialogue is some of the worst I've heard all year. Keanu Reeves is a listless leading man who is blank and lifeless, unable to wrestle the dark and complicated emotions needed for a "cop on the edge" role. I can practically feel Forest Whitaker's spittle every time he speaks. [i]Street Kings[/i] feels like a route retread of rogue cop pictures, which are director David Ayer's specialty. It wants to shine a light on the seedy underbelly of the law but it can't stop from feeling like a lobotomized version of [i]L.A. Confidential[/i] (Note to Ayer: Jay Mohr + mustache = an arrangement that benefits neither party).

    Nate's Grade: D


    21 - Glitzy, breezy, and 100 percent predictable, [i]21[/i] is a simple con movie that goes through the motions with hyper realism. The most interesting part of the film, by far, is learning the systems that help these coeds fleece Vegas for thousands of dollars. In fact, the true story is far more interesting than this typical tale about a good kid who gets a big ego, pushes his true friends away, is humbled, and then learns a lesson while getting the girl too. What's a MIT engineer want to go to Harvard med school for? And for that matter, you're telling me there are no scholarships out there to brainy MIT students? Whatever the case, [i]21[/i] will pass the time nicely without damaging your brain. The card games are ramped up with zooming camerawork and flashy special effects by director Robert Luketic ([i]Legally Blonde[/i]), but it's all window dressing to an interesting story that was white washed into a bland but undeniably commercial movie. It's a fine time but, like Vegas, will leave you empty in the end. Still, you could do worse than overly stylized con movies about math whiz card sharks.

    Nate's Grade: C+


    Be Kind, Rewind - [i]Be Kind, Rewind[/i] is a celebration of the love of movies and moviemaking, but it wants to shoot for a deeper message and stumbles. When the movie concentrates on remaking famous movies like [i]Ghostbusters[/i], [i]Robocop[/i], and [i]Rush Hour 2[/i], the movie has a ramshackle charm and great comedic spirit. When the film strays to tell a tale about community pride is when the movie gets dull and leaden. The concept of cheap, quick, homemade versions of Hollywood movies (the YouTube-ification if you will) is fun and Jack Black and Mos Def are definitely having fun in the process. But the movie has too many other elements that just don't work together. The history of a local jazz legend feels awkward and bogs down the movie's enjoyment. Director Michel Gondry can only do so much with his quirky visual sensibilities before you start to get bored. [i]Be Kind, Rewind[/i] is occasionally entertaining and works best when it's ripping off other movies than trying to stand on its own merits.

    Nate's Grade: C+


    Grace is Gone - This Iraq War drama means well but it comes across as manipulative and morally questionable. John Cusack stars as a former military man who just found out his wife, on active duty in Iraq, has been killed. The bulk of the film's conflict deals with how Cusack will tell his two daughters that mommy is not coming home again. Instead of being upfront with his children, he takes them out of school and whisks them away on a family trip to an amusement park. His reasoning is that he wants to squeeze in a few more happy memories before the kids hear the news. To me, this is irresponsible and psychologically damaging; those kids will resent their father holding onto such important information while he encouraged his kids to shop in ignorance. The film is about 80 minutes of watching a guillotine hang over someone's head, just waiting for the moment to hit. It can get rather uncomfortable. Somewhere in this misguided drama is a poignant look at the domestic cost of the Iraq War from the family's perspective, a perspective yet to be fully articulated by the movies. Instead, [i]Grace is Gone [/i]is a well-acted but contrived drama that favors delaying the pains of reality to the point of incredulity.

    Nate's Grade: C+


    Lust, Caution - Ang Lee's period romance is no [i]Brokeback Mountain[/i], though there is a heavy supply of thrusting and grunting. [i]Lust, Caution[/i] is an NC-17 rated peak into life in China under Japanese occupation in the 1930s. Most of the film follows a school drama club that decides to become freedom fighters. They scheme to murder Chinese officials working with the Japanese government, and one gal (Wei Tang) is tapped to seduce and then kill a high-ranking official. For such a controversial movie, the sex scenes don't even begin until 90 minutes into the flick (though our undercover heroine is deflowered by her drama club peer for the good of her mission). The movie is exquisitely shot, handsome in its details, and the lead performance by Tang is exceptional, simmering with conflicting emotions and some real sensual heat. The sex scenes doe have an erotic potency to them and they are more explicit than the kinder gentler fare found in typical Hollywood movies that consist of only seeing the slow-motion ecstasy result from a man on top. The offbeat love story gestates too late in the film's run, leaving little time to delve deeper. Too much of the movie concerns back-story following the drama club's road to becoming revolutionaries, and while it's interesting it's also rather needless on second thought. There's a nine-minute difference between the R-rated version and the theatrical NC-17 cut; what's in those nine minutes I do not know since I saw the edited version, but I've been told it's a lot of thrusting. In lusty terms, the movie is heavy on foreplay and too short on a satisfying climax.

    Nate's Grade: B-[/color][/font]
  • tsigur
    September 15, 2008
    tsigur
    Though Cusack is amazing, the performances that really impressed me the most were the kids. Even though the ending goes towards the predictable side, I have to recommend a movie that made me cry like a baby for the last twenty minutes. I don't think the two rum and cokes that I h... read moread while watching it helped either.
  • dreamfaeries
    August 6, 2008
    dreamfaeries
    Heart warming and breaking all at the same time.
  • movieguru12
    June 9, 2008
    movieguru12
    Just FANTASTIC,and AMAZING
  • LorenzoVonMatterhorn
    June 2, 2008
    LorenzoVonMatterhorn
    Grace is Gone is graceful, for the lack of a better word. When Stan (Cusack) receives ill fated news of the death of his wife in Iraq, he decides to take his two daughters on a road trip to somehow at least temporarily forget his wife's death and to think of ways to tell the sad ... read morenews to his daughters. This film is full of emotions much thanks to John Cusack's riveting performance as the widowed husband. His performance here is so underrated, he deserves much much more than that. The two child leads were awesome as well.

    The biggest thing about this film is that the music is supervised by Clint Eastwood. Like, Dirty Harry "Make my day" Clint Eastwood I kid you not. Nice move there Clint you supervised the music really well. Its sad, emotional, riveting, wonderful, glorious and magical. This short 80 minute film delivers. Its satisfying.

    4

View All Grace Is Gone Reviews

Critic Reviews

Mick LaSalle
May 27, 2008
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle

Depicts a side of the Iraq war, the American home front, that has been barely touched in other Iraq war movies. Full Review

Amy Biancolli
January 25, 2008
Amy Biancolli, Houston Chronicle

Good intentions can only go so far. Full Review

J. R. Jones
January 3, 2008
J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader

Cusack's climactic confession is heartrending. But too many other moments strain credibility. Full Review

Roger Ebert
December 14, 2007
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

Not a great movie, simply functional, but Cusack gives a great performance. Full Review

Michael Phillips
December 14, 2007
Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune

'Grace is Gone' works best in the quiet moments. ... Shelan O'Keefe couldn't be better ... this low-keyed weepie belongs to her. Full Review

Richard Roeper
December 10, 2007
Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper

This is a very strong and very moving film.

Stephen Whitty
December 7, 2007
Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger

Grace Is Gone is a small film, but mostly in all the right ways. Full Review

Kyle Smith
December 7, 2007
Kyle Smith, New York Post

A barbell of a movie that carries some weight at either end. What's in between is purely utilitarian, though. Full Review

Elizabeth Weitzman
December 7, 2007
Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News

This is a movie that lobs even appropriate criticisms from a safe distance, a flaw its strengths can't overcome. Full Review

Kevin Crust
December 7, 2007
Kevin Crust, Los Angeles Times

In a year that has seen wave after wave of films addressing the war in Iraq with varying degrees of anger and frustration, Grace serves as a gently thoughtful coda and reminder of what continues. Full Review

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  • nice movie, it really touching :) even i am the iron main could cry...:)
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Grace Is Gone Trivia

  • 'How far will she go before she's gone too far?' Is the tagline to which film?  Answer »
  • In what movie does John Cusack tell his daughters that their mother has died in Iraq?  Answer »
  • What was Stan's wifes name in Grace Is Gone ?  Answer »
  • Where was Grace in Grace Is Gone ?  Answer »
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