Grace Is Gone
User Score
7.8 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 11 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 11
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 11
  3. Negative: 1 out of 11

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  1. ChrisP.
    Dec 8, 2007
    10
    Really, really emotional.
  2. JayH.
    May 21, 2008
    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.
  3. ChadS.
    May 28, 2008
    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.… Expand

Critic Reviews

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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
  1. 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.
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  2. 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.
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  3. 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.
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