Grace is Gone

I saw the film, 'Grace is Gone' recently and I felt compelled to write about it.
John Cusack stars in this film. I had never heard of it until I saw it recently. It showed up on some Top Films of the Year lists for last year and I thought I would give it a try. It is a film about the wife of John Cusack's character, Grace, going off to war in Iraq. He is left with two pre-teen daughters to take care of and works at a home improvement store as some kind of manager.
He is leaving for work one morning when two U.S. Army officers show up to inform him of his wife Grace's death. He takes it about how you would expect. He is kind of in shock. He sits in his daughters room all day until they come home from school. He tries to figure out how to tell them but can't do it. The bulk of the film is then spent with the three of them going on a road trip on the way to an amusement park somewhere far away and John Cusack's character suffering about how to tell his girls their Mother is dead.
I won't give away any more but this film was powerful for me. If you see it and aren't sobbing like a little girl by the last scene then you have no heart or you are a democrat, take your pick.
The reality of a Father, or anyone for that matter, having to tell their children that one of their parents was dead hit me like a brick. It was intense and real and of course very heart wrenching.
This is a sad movie to be sure, but I think it important for the majority of us that only hear about Mom's and Dad's dying in the war by little snippets on the evening news etc. to understand the cold heart splitting reality.
Intellectually I know and have known that since 9/11 thousands of families have had to have that abrupt conversation. Until I watched 'Grace is Gone' it hadn't sunk into my soul.
I won't go into the other emotions this film invoked right now. I might do so soon however. I'm sure I will invoke some flaming comments etc. if I do.
Until then, if you are struggling to find something decent to watch these long summer evenings, I recommend 'Grace is Gone'.