Grace Is Gone

The most striking example of the recent conciliatory approach to the Iraq War is found in James Strouse's directorial debut 'Grace is Gone', starring John Cusack as a conservative veteran struggling to tell his young daughters that their mother has been killed in action. Cusack's hunched, frowny demeanour initially makes Stanley unsympathetic, but comes to underline his patriotism and dedication to his family even under the most terrible strain; his amiable drop-out liberal brother (Alessandro Nivola) comes across as something of a lightweight in comparison. While Stanley's reluctance to confront the reality of his situation could be mapped onto the administration's blinkered determination to 'stay the course', the focus is solidly on the human cost borne by those serving their country and their families. On showing the film to friends with serving relatives, Cusack found 'it hit them pretty hard [but] they thought it was a movie from which some healing could happen.'