Grace Is Gone (2007)

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

Director:

Jim Strouse (as James C. Strouse)

Writer:

Jim Strouse (as James C. Strouse)

Stars:

John Cusack, Emily Churchill, Rebecca Spence

Nominated for 2 Golden Globes. Another 4 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

Stan Philipps's wife Grace is a sergeant with the U.S. Army. While she's posted to Iraq, the earnest Stan is home in Minnesota with their daughters, Heidi, 12, and Dawn, 8. He manages a home supply store. After morning visitors bring Stan news, he takes the girls for a car ride that turns into a spontaneous trip to Dawn's favorite place, a Florida amusement park. On the way, they stop at Stan's mother's house, where his brother is staying. Heidi is an insomniac, who tries to fathom her father's uncharacteristic behavior. Dawn is cheerfully unreflective. They have fun at the park. Stan summons his courage.

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Plot Keywords:

road trip | amusement park | death of loved one | death | eulogy | 

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Genres:

Drama | Family

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Details

Official Sites:

TFM Distribution [France] The Weinstein Company [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 January 2008 (Israel)

Also Known As:

Ella se fue

Filming Locations:

725 9th Avenue, La Grange, Illinois, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$2,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$13,880, 9 December 2007, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$50,080, 3 February 2008

Company Credits

Production Co:

Plum Pictures, The Weinstein Company, New Crime Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

85 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

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, Jim Strouse, then took over directorial duties.

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Goofs

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.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Grace Phillips: [on outgoing message] Hi. You've reached Grace, Stanley, Heidi, and Dawn. We're not home right how, but if you leave a message, we'll get back to you as soon as possible.
[beep]
Grace Phillips: [leaving a message] Hi everyone, it's mom! I just wanted to call and tell you how much I'm thinking of you. Stan, I guess you're at work now. Have you had a chance to go to that group thing yet? I think its a great idea. God, it's hot here. I'm not sure when I'm going to be able to call again. It might be a ...
[...]

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Connections

Features Jack and the Beanstalk (1933)

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Soundtracks

Grace Is Gone
Music by Clint Eastwood
Lyrics by Carole Bayer Sager
Produced by Michael Stevens
Performed by Jamie Cullum
Jamie Cullum appears courtesy of Universal Classics & Jazz, a division of Universal Music Operations Limited

User Reviews

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.