Grace Is Gone

In writer-director James C. Strouse's earnest but strained domestic drama, John Cusack stars as Stanley Philipps, a meek Minnesota store manager emotionally paralyzed by the death of his wife, an army sergeant serving in Iraq. Putting off the unhappy task of telling his two young daughters about their mother, Stanley instead takes the girls on an impromptu road trip to a Florida amusement park. From a purely technical perspective Cusack is quite good: the scenes in which he grieves alone over his loss would be very powerful were it not for Clint Eastwood's sappy score (which, to be fair, was nominated for a Golden Globe). But Cusack's mannered performance isn't ultimately truly convincing, and it suffers in comparison to his characteristic lighter turns in past roles. In fact, the best acting here is from Shélan O'Keefe, as Stanley's 12-year-old daughter, who acutely captures the ever-so-slightly-rebellious girl's changing moods in reaction to her father's unusual behavior, which she struggles to understand. In any case, the acting can only partially redeem what's essentially a tearjerker that is just a cut above TV-movie quality—a film that, for all its good intentions, ends up being more maudlin than insightful. Optional. [Note: DVD extras include two behind-the-scenes featurettes—“A Conversation on Grace” (7 min.) and “The Inspiration” (7 min.)—as well as a three-minute “Profile of TAPS” on the tragedy assistance program. Bottom line: a small extras package for an uneven film.] (F. Swietek)