Grace Is Gone (2007)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

James C. Strouse

Writer (WGA):

James C. Strouse (written by)

Release Date:

10 January 2008 (Israel)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Upon hearing his wife was killed in the Iraq war, a father takes his two daughters on a road trip.

Plot Keywords:

Daughter | Father | Trip | Amusement Park | Brother

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Golden Globes. Another 4 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

John Cusack	...	Stanley Phillips
Emily Churchill	...	First Woman
Rebecca Spence	...	Second Woman
Jennifer Tyler	...	Third Woman
Susan Messing	...	Fourth Woman
Shélan O'Keefe	...	Heidi Phillips
Gracie Bednarczyk	...	Dawn Phillips
Doug Dearth	...	Captain Riggs
Doug James	...	Chaplain Johnson
Alessandro Nivola	...	John Phillips
Zach Gray	...	Boy at Pool (as Zachary Gray)
Marisa Tomei	...	Woman at Pool
Penny Slusher	...	Ear Piercer
Dana Lynne Gilhooley	...	Grace Phillips
Mary Kay Place	...	Woman at Funeral

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for thematic material, brief strong language and teen smoking.

Runtime:

85 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

USA:PG-13 (certificate #43815) | Singapore:PG | Australia:M | Netherlands:6 | Philippines:PG-13 (MTRCB) | Finland:K-7 | Argentina:13

Filming Locations:

725 9th Avenue, La Grange, Illinois, USA

Company:

Plum Pictures

Trivia:

The film was originally going to be directed by Rob Reiner, who dropped out during pre-production for unknown reasons. The film's writer, James C. Strouse, then took over directorial duties.

Goofs:

Continuity: While the girls have dinner with Uncle John at Dairy Queen, his ice cream sundae appears to be finished and/or partially finished throughout their meal. At the beginning of the conversation that we see, the sundae appears to be finished as he tries to clean the bowl out with a spoon; but in the next shot we see that the sundae is only halfway finished.

Quotes:

John Phillips: It's important that people have their own views based on an understanding of facts. But, it's also important not to trust the facts, because most of them are lies.
Heidi Phillips: I don't get it.
John Phillips: It basically comes down to a gut thing. You just have to be open to allowing for a truth which differs from your own opinions. Or else you'll never actually see the truth at all.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Siskel & Ebert & the Movies: (2007-12-08)" (2007)

Soundtrack:

Grace Is Gone

A fine tribute to those who die in war and those left to mourn.

This is a moving story of a man whose wife, a soldier, is killed in Iraq, and the almost unbearable task placed on him to tell his two daughters, aged 9 and 12, the terrible news. John Cusack played the part of the of the husband of the dead wife, and father of the girls, superbly. I tried to put myself in his position, having to break the news of their mother's death to the two youngsters, and it almost brought me to tears, as the end of the movie actually did.

This movie is a fitting tribute to the young Americans who fight and sometimes die for the country and for the families of those who wait for their return; when sometimes the waiting is in vain.

Whether the war is a just or unjust war or whether it's useless debacle, young men and women die whilst fulfilling what is, in their mind, their duty. The validity of the war detracts nothing from their heroism.