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MOVIES / ON DVD / GRACE IS GONE
Grace is Gone

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Grace is Gone (2007)

58%
83%
87%
N/A
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N/A
58 %
Reviews Counted: 60 Fresh: 35  Rotten:25 Average Rating: 5.8/10
 
Consensus: A heartfelt, finely acted portrayal of grief and healing. A refreshing departure from the current crop of Iraq war dramas, Grace is Gone is a heartfelt, finely acted portrayal of grief and healing. more
 
Runtime: 1 hr 32 mins
Synopsis:
Though 2007 saw a flood of Iraq-related films, GRACE IS GONE takes a different approach from many of the others. Unlike REDACTED and LIONS FOR LAMBS, this directorial debut from screenwriter James C. Strouse (LONESOME JIM) doesn't focus on the conflict itself. Instead, the drama looks at how... [More]
Though 2007 saw a flood of Iraq-related films, GRACE IS GONE takes a different approach from many of the others. Unlike REDACTED and LIONS FOR LAMBS, this directorial debut from screenwriter James C. Strouse (LONESOME JIM) doesn't focus on the conflict itself. Instead, the drama looks at how the death of a female soldier affects her family at home. John Cusack (1408) is Stanley Phillips, a husband and father who waits while his wife Grace is off serving in Iraq. When he learns of her death, he can't bear to tell his two daughters the news. To postpone the inevitable, the normally staid father proposes a spontaneous road trip to his girls, and the three set off for the fun of an amusement park called Enchanted Gardens. GRACE IS GONE picked up a pair of awards at Sundance: the Audience Award and Best Screenplay. It's a deeply affecting drama that never resorts to manipulation in achieving its aims. Instead, it relies on the strong script from Strouse, as well as a trio of fantastic performances. As Stanley and Grace's young daughters, Gracie Bednarczyk and Shélan O'Keefe make memorable film debuts. Their relationships with both each other and their cinematic father feel completely genuine. As for Cusack, he trades in the swagger of Lloyd Dobler and Rob Gordon for Stanley Phillips's shuffle. The role is a complete departure for the veteran actor, and the change is a welcome one that should win him both critical praise and awards. The film's tone is sweet and sad, though never overwhelmingly so, and it's helped by excellent cinematography from Jean-Louis Bompoint and a quietly moving score from Clint Eastwood. [Less]

Genre: Dramas

Starring: John Cusack, Alessandro Nivola, Gracie Bednarczyk, Shélan O'Keefe, Mary Kay Place

Director: James C. Strouse
Screenwriter: James C. Strouse
Producer: John Cusack, Grace Loh, Galt Niederhoffer, Celine Rattray, Daniela Taplin Lundberg
Composer: Clint Eastwood

DVD Info

Release:

Mar 5, 2010

[DVD Details]

DVD Features:

  • Region 1
  • Keep Case
  • Full Frame - 1.33

Audio:

  • Dolby Digital Stereo - English

Reviews

 
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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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Ratings Image

Combines a topical storyline with a thoroughly involving examination of grief that's never remotely maudlin or sentimental.

Full Review | Comment
11/03/07 03:27 AM
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall
Ratings Image

Engaging, superbly acted and ultimately heart-breaking drama that hammers home the cost of the Iraq war and marks out debut director Strouse as a talent to watch.

Full Review | Comment
10/27/07 03:26 AM
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon
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The focus is solidly on the human cost borne by those serving their country and their families.

Full Review | Comment
10/13/07 03:27 AM
Ben Walters
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image

the mood is as overcast as the sky that follows the Phillips' as they head for Florida and the inevitable moment of revelation. Grace Is Gone is a downer worthy of a super-sized box of Kleenex

Full Review | Comment
03/17/08 05:48 PM
Matt Kelemen
Las Vegas CityLife
Ratings Image

This isn't so much a film about picking up the pieces after a tragedy, but instead an extended story of the pieces that fell...

Full Review | Comment
03/04/08 09:47 AM
Jeff Bayer
Daily Herald (IL)
Ratings Image

Despite the strength of the cast (in particular O'Keefe, who's making her film debut here and shows tremendous promise), it's hard to muster much enthusiasm for Grace Is Gone.

Full Review | Comment
01/25/08 12:43 PM
Moira MacDonald
Seattle Times
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Good intentions can only go so far.

Full Review | Comment
01/25/08 12:42 PM
Amy Biancolli
Houston Chronicle
Ratings Image

Strouse gives the movie an industrial sparseness, which only increases its intimacy.

Full Review | Comment
01/24/08 08:32 PM
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid
Ratings Image

It makes its points and is more cultural evidence of just how harshly history is likely to judge our ill-fated adventure in the Middle East.

Full Review | Comment
01/24/08 04:25 PM
William Arnold
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Ratings Image

The drawn out process in this character vehicle runs on low grade dramatic fuel.

Full Review | Comment
01/18/08 10:48 AM
Jules Brenner
Cinema Signals
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It’s a narrative strategy that neither informs, challenges nor heals.

Full Review | Comment
01/18/08 03:15 AM
Ben Kenigsberg
Time Out New York
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This is, most subtly, Grace Is Gone's abiding theme, the ways that overwhelming loss bring into focus what remains, as well as the cultural frameworks by which moral judgments are made.

Full Review | Comment
01/17/08 08:16 AM
Cynthia Fuchs
PopMatters
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For all its good intentions and solid acting, it ends up more maudlin than penetrating.

Full Review | Comment
01/13/08 01:36 PM
Frank Swietek
One Guy's Opinion
Ratings Image

[No]matter how much you love [Cusack's] usual snarky schtick, it's wonderful to see him stretch as an artist...

Full Review | Comment
01/04/08 12:46 PM
MaryAnn Johanson
Flick Filosopher
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Cusack's climactic confession is heartrending. But too many other moments strain credibility.

Full Review | Comment
01/03/08 10:05 AM
J. R. Jones
Chicago Reader
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A banal weepie.

Full Review | Comment
12/27/07 07:04 AM
Harvey S. Karten
Film Journal International
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The perfect maudlin holiday entertainment.

Full Review | Comment
12/18/07 11:30 AM
Jon Popick
Planet Sick-Boy
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Not a great movie, simply functional, but Cusack gives a great performance.

Full Review | Comment
12/14/07 01:17 PM
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
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'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 | Comment
12/14/07 12:13 PM
Michael Phillips
Chicago Tribune
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There have many films in the last year or so that have dealt with the war in Iraq, but I can't recall one that infuriated me as much as this smugly insufferable soap opera that uses the conflict as an excuse to offer up 90 minutes of muddled mawkishness

Full Review | Comment
12/14/07 10:09 AM
Peter Sobczynski
eFilmCritic.com
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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