{"id":1542,"date":"2007-12-12T08:25:22","date_gmt":"2007-12-12T08:25:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/idolchatter\/2007\/12\/losing-grace-in-iraq-grace-is.html"},"modified":"2007-12-12T08:25:22","modified_gmt":"2007-12-12T08:25:22","slug":"losing-grace-in-iraq-grace-is","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/2007\/12\/losing-grace-in-iraq-grace-is.html","title":{"rendered":"Losing ‘Grace’ in Iraq: ‘Grace Is Gone’"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"graceisgone.jpg\"<\/a>\u201cGrace is Gone\u201d is built on a simple premise: Grace Phillips, a soldier, wife and mother of two, is killed in the war in Iraq. Her husband, Stanley Phillips, played by John Cusack, is left to break the terrible news to their daughters, ages eight and twelve.
\nThe girls are too old to buy that \u201cMommy is playing now with Nibbles the deceased pet hamster in a field of lollipops\u201d and they\u2019re too young to wax theological or existential, so what\u2019s a socially-awkward, nebbishly-named, home-supply store manager father to do? With nary a clue himself, he takes them on an impromptu cross-country road trip to Enchanted Gardens, their favorite amusement park and last chance for a high-note memory of a normal childhood.
\nThe plot may sound far-fetched, but in a country where the reality of mortality makes people stick their fingers in their ears and chant \u201clalalalala,\u201d perhaps this film is truer to life than we\u2019d like to admit. Something uncomfortable to talk about? Nothing a bag of cotton candy and a few roller coaster rides can\u2019t cure! All hail the shiny credit card as panacea whenever we feel pain and confusion in our lives.<\/p>\n


\nThough I initially found it odd that this movie about parental death contained no talk of religion or spirituality, I ended up finding that to be one of its strongest points. It deals, quite simply, in the here and now of these characters\u2019 lives, addressing what each of us may or may not do to merely survive in a similar situation.
\nAfter all, aren\u2019t religious doctrine and belief little more than a Band-Aid in such a traumatic scenario as this one? Does \u201cGod wanted Mommy back\u201d do anything to stop a child (or adult, for that matter) from asking, \u201cBut why? Why her? Why now?\u201d Or, to the contrary, are dogma and faith the only things that can bridge the void of a recently-deceased parent?
\nGrace, the actress and character, is anonymous in the film; she is little more than the voice on the home answering machine that Stanley calls from the road when seeking comfort and guidance from her once-spoken words. In that sense, she is as invisible as divine grace which, to me, is always waiting in the wings, patiently watching over us as we work through our issues, here watching Stanley struggle to make sense of his own grief before helping his daughters deal with their own.
\nIn terms of a review for this \u201cwho-the-heck-is-the-audience?\u201d film, the two girl actors are quite wonderful: the youngest girl still has that silly exuberance that makes all of her dialogue sound unscripted while the oldest girl portrays a subtle maturity that intimates how she has dealt with her mother\u2019s past deployments.
\nBesides the fact that I suffered a case of Heavy Eyelids during the course of this 85-minute flick, my biggest critique is that, while I applaud John Cusack for venturing away from his typical repertoire, his shoulder-hunching, pigeon-toeing, eyeglass-pushing character\u2019s extreme mannerisms too often pulled me out of the film. I mean, I don\u2019t think <\/em>I\u2019m still holding him responsible for those precious hours I put into \u201c1408\u201d that I\u2019ll never see again.
\nIn any event, \u201cGrace is Gone\u201d is a respectful, intimate character study of a truly miserable real-life situation that happens any time a soldier parent is lost in combat. As we race headfirst into the holiday season with its emphasis on family, this film may, unfortunately, have more emotional resonance with the American public since the war in Iraq began than anyone would care to admit.
\n–-This post was written by Todd Havens<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cGrace is Gone\u201d is built on a simple premise: Grace Phillips, a soldier, wife and mother of two, is killed in the war in Iraq. Her husband, Stanley Phillips, played by John Cusack, is left to break the terrible news to their daughters, ages eight and twelve. 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