Grace is Gone - Movie Review

Grace is Gone is a clever, touching journey film that humanizes the casualties of the War in Iraq and the tragedies that families incur with the loss of a loved one.

When Stanley Phillips receives word that his wife Grace has been killed while serving in Iraq he is overcome with grief and can't bring himself to tell his eight and twelve year old daughters. As denial sets in he pulls the girls out of school, packs up the family car, and sets out on a life-changing cross-country trek to visit Enchanted Gardens, an amusement park with sentimental value. As the trip progresses Stanley plunges further into his escapist tirade; running away from anything and everything that reminds him of Grace and refusing to break the truth to his daughters. However, his twelve year old daughter Heidi senses foul play and constantly keeps Stanley on his toes. In the end the family is forced to face the terrible reality and come to a realization that losing their beloved Grace has in-turn helped them find themselves.

There is no doubt that Grace is Gone was authored by Writer/Director James C. Strouse. It contains many of the same elements that were unique to his first Sundance endeavor in 2005 as the writer of the Steve Buscemi film Lonesome Jim; yet it is evident that his writing has improved on many levels and his execution is unequivocal. The screenplay is deep and well written; exploiting the theme with every word, and emphasizing the grief process while drawing attention to the political and humanistic elements that plague modern culture in regards to the War in Iraq. The characters are well-written to exude the depth and charisma that was lacking in Lonesome Jim. Fortunately the casting was perfect and the characters were able to come off the page with the help of John Cusack, and the child actresses that play his on-screen daughters.

The film flows well, but has a few holes in the plot. It is evident that inadequate research was conducted during the pre-production process because there are several weak links and historical inaccuracies in the military policies and procedures; for instance claims that Stanley was discharged from the Military for vision problems. However, these errors are easily forgiven because the theme and the message of the film are important and emphasize the real-world dilemmas of today's War on Terror.

The production quality was excellent and rivaled most big budget films. The cinematography singled out the characters, even in public settings, and stressed the immense loneliness and hardship that the theme required. There were a few spots in the film where differences in color temperature and exposure were evident, which spoke to the low budget and took away from the story, but only slightly. Editing was pretty mediocre, but the film didn't require anything too special in that department as it was very plot and theme driven.

Inspired by the images of flag-draped caskets so common place in today's War on Terror, Grace is Gone aims to exploit the human cost of the War and the long-term effects that the tragic happenings will reap on modern day society.