PDA

View Full Version : Grace is Gone (Strouse)



NickGlass
12-08-2007, 11:39 PM
Stanley Phillips (a weary John Cusack) may have difficulty admitting that Grace—his wife who died fighting in Iraq—is gone, but first-time writer/director James C. Strouse has no trouble saying goodbye to his respect for audiences. Stanley represses his grief, makes impulsive decisions, frequently acts lost, and cannot find a way to tell the tragic truth his daughters, Heidi and Dawn—who might as well be named Precocious and Petulant, since they’re just sketches of characters. A few failed subplots and a stock liberal character later, Grace devolves into a callous game of “will they or won’t they find out.” It’s strange that a film whose young characters are told to question the media is so emotionally fascistic. Grace is Gone is best suited for an audience who lets a film’s score dictate how they’ll feel. Throughout the film and up to its conclusion, there is no catharsis—just soft piano keys.

eternity
12-09-2007, 12:15 AM
Cusack isn't getting the Best Actor nom anymore (and from what you say, for good reason). It's going to pull a 4k PTA out of 4 theaters.

origami_mustache
12-09-2007, 12:18 AM
HAHA this review is so great. I especially love "might as well be named Precocious and Petulant." as well as the final line.

Sycophant
12-09-2007, 01:40 AM
When I heard about this film, I thought "If this were good, it would be really good. If it isn't, it's going to suck very, very hard." Sad to hear it's the latter. But it spawned an entertaining review here, so at least that's something.

Ezee E
12-09-2007, 03:50 AM
I think I saw the entire movie in the trailer. It's funny that the Weinstein's paid so much for this one at Sundance.

number8
12-09-2007, 06:42 AM
I guessed the ending of the film about 15 minutes into the movie, and I was pretty appalled that my guess was not 80, not 90, but 100% correct. To the detail.