GRACE IS GONE

Directed by James C. Strouse Written by James C. Strouse Starring John Cusack,Shelan O'Keefe,Gracie Benarczyk Music by Clint Eastwood Available at Amazon for $19.99 FILM:

rating:2

DVD:

rating:2

"War! What is it good for? Absolutely nothing! Say it again!" - Edwin Starr THE FILM JOHN CUSACK stars as Stanley Phillips, a hunched, pasty manager of a home remodeling supply chain store. Poor Stanley has a difficult life; not only does he hold down a meaningless job, but he also has to take care of his two daughters while his wife, the titular Grace, is off fighting the "war on terror" in Iraq. In the first few minutes, we are shown his miserable everyday existence until two servicemen show up at his front door and tell Stanley that his wife was killed in combat. Confused about how to inform the girls about the loss of their mother, Stanley instead decides to take them on a long road trip to "Enchanted Gardens" and give them some fun before he breaks their heart. The film, like most Iraq-themed films from 2007, did terribly at the box office. Not helping the situation is the "let's watch a movie about a guy crying over his wife's death for two hours" factor built into this one. It's clearly gunning for the Oscar crowd with its emotionally manipulative storyline and lead performance highlighting framework. However, the film almost dares you to like it and admire it with its unrelentingly somber, funereal tone. This might be Cusack's most unpleasant role since he lusted after his mother Anjelica Huston in THE GRIFTERS. Stanley is insular, repressed, and apparently has a tree trunk wedged firmly up his ass. Cusack himself is barely recognizable; even his walk takes on this strange weight pattern. His relationship with his girls is prickly, consistently crabby, and tense. I can't say I enjoyed the performance, since the character as written is so distancing, which Cusack amplifies with his physical and facial mannerisms. There are other films in which the lead character is similarly unlikeable - Meryl Streep in A CRY IN THE DARK, for instance - but they still project a certain reasonableness that makes their more unpleasant characteristics understandable. Here, Stanely is simply presented as a bitchy, confused prick. Cusack's mannered performance is tempered somewhat by the impressively naturalistic performances eked out of newcomers O'Keefe and Benarcyzk as Stanley's two young daughters. O'Keefe's character is too grown up for her age, constantly worrying about more than she should, and the young actress aptly portrays this confusion. In fact, O'Keefe is so good at this that her interactions with Cusack's Stanley take on a role reversal quality that is mildly annoying; she is the mother to Stanley's blubbering lunacy. Meanwhile, Benarcyzk is cute and lively, just the right tone to play off the seriousness of the other two. We never meet Grace at all; we learn about her through the thoughts and feelings expressed by the onscreen characters. This narrative decision prevents us from having any emotional investment in the characters or their struggle. Imagine listening in on a grief therapy session with a bunch of people you do not know or relate to. Listening to their stories might make you feel sorry for their pain, but you cannot feel it yourself. Similarly, watching Stanley - who distances himself from us with his prickliness - contort his way through his grief over someone we do not know does not communicate to us any sense of loss or despair. Despite this, writer/director Strause does a remarkable job at expressing the little moments through shot choice and editing. For example, when Stanely finds out about Grace's death, Strause allows him to sit in a chair all day while everything around him recedes into silence. It is a powerful composition that mimicks both Stanley's inner conflict and the way we experience shock. He makes another terrific choice at the end, when Stanley finally decides to tell the girls about their mother's death. Rather than write and shoot a sappy dialogue scene, he chooses to let us watch Stanley tell them while the subtle Clint Eastwood score plays on the soundtrack. Allowing the actor's faces to tell the story silently is much more effective. The film does not preach for or against the Iraq conflict; Stanley is firmly for the American occupation, while others in the film voice dissent. It is thankfully not preachy about its politics, although that very element probably caused its demise at the box office. Instead, the film focuses firmly on the end result of war - the death of loved ones - without allowing too much extraneous politiking and stance-baiting. I imagine if I had lost a wife or child in a war or other tragedy, then this film might resonate with me. However, a film should be able to do that without any built-in emotional triggers. Lacking those, I found the film to be peculiar and slightly off-putting, with an unpleasant performance by Cusack and a terrific directorial job by Strause. Too analytical? Possibly. But this film failed to make me feel the loss of Grace, and that's the title of the movie. Not a good thing. EXTRAS A CONVERSATION ON GRACE - This doc looks at the motivation to make GRACE IS GONE. I thought it was interesting to see why Cusack chose this role in the first place. I also came away with added respect for Strause, who seems like a very intelligent director. INSPIRATION FOR GRACE IS GONE - This looks at the real-life inspiration for the film, a family torn asunder by the loss of a wife. The family highlighted here is very open about their fallen mother, particularly the husband. By the end, you just want to hug them all. PROFILE OF TAPS - This brief look at the Tragedy Assistance Program reveals a network I didn't know existed. It seems like a thoughtfully-arranged system to assist those who have lost military family members. OVERALL If you have lost someone close to you in some tragic manner, I have no doubt you will recognize your emotions onscreen at some point. Occasionally such built-in emotional triggers allow us to look past cinematic manipulation and cliches. Although the DVD has some very nice details, I can't quite recommend the film. It treads territory we have seen before and done better, while showcasing an uncomfortable performance by Cusack that I have little desire to revisit. It's not a bad film, but not a very warm or enjoyable one either.