My thoughts on Grace is Gone

Here's a fun fact for my friends out there: if I am already depressed, don't let me watch sad movies.

As one could easily guess from reading the simple synopsis for Grace is Gone, this film is not exactly uplifting.  John Cusack stars as Stanley Phillips, a married father of two daughters whose wife is serving in the military in Iraq.  Life is already difficult for the family, as mom's extended absence is strongly felt by all three, but when Stanley receives the news that his wife has been killed in action, things move rapidly downhill. 

The film largely documents the emotions of Stanley, as the surviving parent, and how he struggles to tell his girls about their mother's death. 

While I personally enjoy the characters that John Cusack brings to the screen and appreciated the honest portrayal of this military family, I did feel that something was lacking.  I can't exactly put my finger on it, but the film didn't feel complete.  It was compelling, disheartening, sad, redemptive, profound, full of love...but something was off.  Of course, there is a good possibility that the weirdness is just me and that everyone else out there will truly enjoy the experience of watching another John Cusack movie.

My final word: 1) No more sad movies for me for at least 2 weeks.  This movie dropped me into a weird mire of depression for all of yesterday afternoon, and required lots of shaking of self to dispel the bad mood.  2) If you like John Cusack and are willing to watch a heavy drama piece about a military family, with no real politically motivated argument for or against the war in Iraq (different characters had different points of view about the war, but that felt real and not like the screenwriters/director were pushing an agenda), I would think you would enjoy this film.  Go ahead, rent the movie, grab the popcorn and couch it for a few hours.