Grace Is Gone

Sometimes a movie is worth checking out just for one great performance. In this case it's John Cusack, who has long been one of the most consistently fine actors in movies (think High Fidelity, Grosse Pointe Blank, Being John Malkovich, The Grifters, and last summer's 1408, to name just a few). Incredibly he has never been even nominated for an Academy Award, but Grace Is Gone might finally change that. He is simply terrific in a fine and moving film that tells the experience of the Iraq war from the perspective of those who are left behind. Cusack is a loyal George W. Bush–supporting military man who could not go to Iraq due to a medical condition. His wife, Grace, whom he met in the service, however, is shipped overseas and killed in a roadside bombing. With two girls to take care of at home, Cusack cannot bring himself to tell them the tragic news, so instead he decides to take them out of school and on an impromptu road trip. Along the way they stop at various places, including their uncle's (Alessandro Nivola) house, where he and Cusack get into an argument about the merits of the war. Eventually the inevitable moment comes when he has to face his girls and tell them their mother has died. Cusack so underplays every moment; he just sinks into this quiet, stalwart character of a man who is deeply ashamed that it couldn't have been him instead of his wife. This quiet, understated movie even includes a low-key piano-heavy score by Clint Eastwood, who saw the film when it first played Sundance last January and was so moved he volunteered to provide the music. You will be, too.