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:

Trip | Iraq War | Store | Minnesota | Amusement Park

Awards:

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

US TV Schedule:

Wed. Nov. 11

6:30 AM

HBO

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 | South Korea:All

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:

Errors in geography: Grace dies in March, but the trees are in full bloom and the grass is green in Minnesota. This would not be the case until late April, early May.

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:

Makeup

Great Sense of Loss

I get the feeling that people who do not like this movie wanted some large seen where John Cusack's character tells what he is thinking. I'm confused at this. If we wanted to watch movies where characters laid out their thoughts verbatim we wouldn't have an opportunity to infer our own emotions on the situation. I would have been upset if this filmed decided to tackle the issue of war instead of the issue of how modern loss can effect us. This is a film about being put on pause. When we are shaken out of our sense of normalcy how do we cope. In this case, how do you explain the loss you cannot comprehend to your children. I think that this film is powerful in it's absent of the affectation of the outside world. You have a man who insulates himself from the events and in that case you have something a lot more honest. If the film had chosen to attack those issues i think the depth of loss would have been shattered. This isn't an anti-war nor pro-war film. I think that if you go in expecting that you will dislike immensely. This is a film about normalcy and our failure to cope. I think it works. I think wanting it to do something it isn't trying to do is an incorrect way to view this film.