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Grace Is Gone
The Weinstein Company


8.3

based on 18 reviews
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based on 8 votes
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MPAA RATING: PG-13 for thematic material, brief strong language and teen smoking

Starring John Cusack, Alessandro Nivola, Shelan O'Keefe, and Gracie Bednarczyk

There was a time when Stanley Phillips could see his entire life clearly. He dreamed of patriotic service and was destined for a military career. He came close to that dream until it was cut short simply because of his poor eyesight. Now he's serving customers at a home supply store while his sergeant wife is fighting in Iraq. Equally as awkward at home as he is at work, he's raising Heidi, their 12-year-old daughter, and Dawn, her 8-year-old sister. Although a loving father, Stanley is unable to conform to a more affectionate role, and the girls miss their mother deeply. While tolerating his job and stumbling through parenting he is abruptly awakened when tragedy strikes. Ill prepared to deal with it himself, he is at a complete loss contemplating how to tell his children. He's desperate to delay telling the children, so they embark on a spontaneous road trip. Grasping to give them their last moments of innocence, Stanley reveals a softer side as they travel to Dawn's chosen destination: Enchanted Gardens Theme Park. The farther they drive, the closer they become, yet Stanley knows he must face the inevitable task of changing their lives forever. (The Weinstein Company)

GENRE(S):	Drama
WRITTEN BY:	James C. Strouse
DIRECTED BY:	James C. Strouse
RELEASE DATE:	DVD: May 27, 2008 Theatrical: December 7, 2007
RUNNING TIME:	85 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	USA

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

The Onion (A.V. Club) Tasha Robinson

Attempts to address grief frankly, gently, and without didacticism, and it largely succeeds.

The New York Times Stephen Holden

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.

Premiere Glenn Kenny

A picture about tragedy in one American family's life, and it's a convincing and humane one.

USA Today Claudia Puig

As subtle and shattering as its title.

Rolling Stone Peter Travers

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.

ReelViews James Berardinelli

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.

Chicago Tribune Michael Phillips

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.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

Not a great movie, simply functional, but Cusack gives a great performance. The film somehow doesn't live up to his work.

Los Angeles Times Kevin Crust

An emotionally rich and satisfying drama featuring a terrifically understated performance from John Cusack.

Film Threat Jeremy Mathews

A film that depends entirely on whether you feel empathy for its characters.

Variety Todd McCarthy

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.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold

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.

New York Daily News Elizabeth Weitzman

Bednarczyk's natural instincts put most programmed Hollywood moppets to shame, and the quietly affecting O'Keefe shows genuine talent.

The Hollywood Reporter Kirk Honeycutt

A disappointing and manipulative look at one family's loss in the Iraq war.

Chicago Reader J.R. Jones

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.

Village Voice Scott Foundas

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.

Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum

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.

New York Post Kyle Smith

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

The average user rating for this movie is 8.3 (out of 10) based on 8 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Chad S. gave it a7:
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.

Jay H. gave it a5:
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.

Chris P. gave it a10:
Really, really emotional.

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Grace Is Gone The Weinstein Company

Grace Is Gone
The Weinstein Company