Fridae

Iraq War-related films have all sank at the box-office, and Grace is Gone is likely to do poor business in the cinemas too.

Well, that's just too bad. Because Grace is Gone � like In the Valley of Elah � is not a bad film. It is a quiet, modest and sometimes moving drama about a man dealing with the loss of his wife who died in Iraq. And, like the slew of films in recent times dealing with death and mourning (In the Bedroom, Reservation Road, Secret Sunshine), it does hit a few grace notes now and then.

Set in Minnesota, John Cusack plays a husband and father whose soldier wife is serving in Iraq. When news arrives that she died in action, he struggles to tell their two young daughters, 12-year-old Heidi (O'Keefe) and 8-year-old Dawn (Gracie Bednarczyk). He quickly piles them into the car and drives them cross-country to an amusement park, hoping to delay the moment when he has to tell them...

Without a doubt, John Cusack gives a strong performance. It helps to hold together this simple melodrama. But the film tends to tests the audience patience with the long-drawn "Will he or won't he tell the kids now?" suspense. At some point, you just wish he'd hurry up.

Only for drama junkies.