Advanced Search Beta »
Basic Search Fields
Grace Is Gone
Metascore
65 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 18 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 18
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 18
  3. Negative: 0 out of 18
view
per page
  1. The A.V. Club
    Reviewed by: Tasha Robinson
    83
    Attempts to address grief frankly, gently, and without didacticism, and it largely succeeds.
  2. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Stephen Holden
    80
    Mr. Cusack demonstrates once again that he is Hollywood's second-most-reliable nice guy, after Tom Hanks. Devoid of vanity, with no hidden agendas, he never strains to be likable. Good will, integrity and a native common sense ooze out of him.
  3. Rolling Stone
    Reviewed by: Peter Travers
    75
    Simplicity -- four-square, not sappy -- is rare in film. James C. Strouse had it in his script for Lonesome Jim. As writer and first-time director, he gives Grace Is Gonethe quiet power to sneak up and floor you.
  4. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    75
    Not a great movie, simply functional, but Cusack gives a great performance. The film somehow doesn't live up to his work.
  5. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Michael Phillips
    75
    It's a close call, but Grace is Gone is worth seeing for the way John Cusack works with Shelan O'Keefe and Gracie Bednarczyk, two of the least affected and most affecting young actors to hit the screen this year.
  6. USA Today
    Reviewed by: Claudia Puig
    75
    As subtle and shattering as its title.
  7. ReelViews
    Reviewed by: James Berardinelli
    75
    With a minimalist plot, Grace Is Gone turns its primary focus on John Cusack, giving the actor an opportunity to display both his talent and his range.
  8. Premiere
    Reviewed by: Glenn Kenny
    75
    A picture about tragedy in one American family's life, and it's a convincing and humane one.
  9. Film Threat
    Reviewed by: Jeremy Mathews
    70
    A film that depends entirely on whether you feel empathy for its characters.
  10. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Kevin Crust
    70
    An emotionally rich and satisfying drama featuring a terrifically understated performance from John Cusack.
  11. Variety
    Reviewed by: Todd McCarthy
    70
    Although clearly coming from an antiwar perspective, the story's emotional effectiveness and family grounding give the film a real shot at connecting with general audiences across the political spectrum.
  12. Seattle Post-Intelligencer
    Reviewed by: William Arnold
    67
    The most noteworthy thing about the Iraq war home-front drama, Grace Is Gone, is that Clint Eastwood composed its musical score and title song, which have both been garnering all sorts of accolades, including dual Golden Globe nominations.
  13. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: Elizabeth Weitzman
    63
    Bednarczyk's natural instincts put most programmed Hollywood moppets to shame, and the quietly affecting O'Keefe shows genuine talent.
  14. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Kirk Honeycutt
    50
    A disappointing and manipulative look at one family's loss in the Iraq war.
  15. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Kyle Smith
    50
    A barbell of a movie that carries some weight at either end. What's in between is purely utilitarian, though.
  16. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Lisa Schwarzbaum
    50
    Grace Is Gone grabs on to a name, a war, and the metaphor-come-to-life of a theme park with rides going nowhere. And we, the people, are spun around and shaken for tears.
  17. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: Scott Foundas
    50
    The music--a gently jazzy piano-and-strings theme--is just fine, and a good deal less cloying than what was there before. One can only regret that Eastwood didn't offer to reshoot the whole movie while he was at it.
  18. Chicago Reader
    Reviewed by: J.R. Jones
    50
    His (John Cusack) quickness and intelligence make him a poor choice to play the flat-footed main character, a rigidly conservative family man who can't work up the nerve to tell his two daughters their soldier mother has been killed in action.
prev next
Page:
  • 1

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
7.8 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 11 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 3
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 3
  3. Negative: 0 out of 3
  1. ChadS.
    7
    Is she in denial, the older daughter, Heidi(Shelan O'Keefe), who at twelve, should recognize the tell-tale signs(a casserole at the front door, a family meeting suddenly aborted) that something is amiss, before the incomplete family piles into the family car? Their trip to an amusement park(reminiscent of "National Lampoon's Vacation"; possible social commentary, perhaps, the war as Dub-ya's World), as a way for the father(John Cusack) to stop time, rings false, because "Grace is Gone" underestimates the intelligence of children. And even worse, in the opening scene, Stanley attends a millitary wives' meeting, played for laughs. Emasculating a soldier's husband is no way to honor the countless women with children serving our country. But in spite of it all, when the father tells his children that mom isn't coming home, "Grace is Gone" offers up an anti-war moment that bests anything from the recent slate of films about our post-9/11 world; W.'s world, not Walley's World. Stanley supports his wife, her mission, but in that same jingoistic conversation with his kids, the war husband says that he sells s*** to people. "Grace is Gone" would've been an unqualified success had the director made it clear that Heidi knows, so Heidi hides, just like her father, from the truth.… Full Review »
  2. JayH.
    5
    It's not a bad film. Good score, well acted. But I am not sure why it was made. Okay, his wife dies. And... There is very little in the film you can sink your teeth into. They could have told it all in about 8 minutes.… Full Review »
  3. ChrisP.
    10
    Really, really emotional.
See all user reviews »