Grace Is Gone
I like that you are silent, as if you disappeared,
far away and sad, as if you are dead.
At that time, a word and a smile were enough.
And I will feel happy because it is not true.
This is a passage from Neruda's "Twenty Love Poems and a Desperate Song", which I have always liked. It is quite appropriate to use it to describe the movie "Happiness Is Gone" ("Grace Is Gone").
I first saw the introduction of this film. John Cusack played a small shop assistant. His wife served in Iraq, but unfortunately died. Cusack couldn't tell the bad news to his two daughters, so he took them on a journey to the magical paradise-to be honest, the story didn't appeal to me, and even thought it must be a little hypocritical. Watching the whole film, I was very happy to find that I was completely wrong: this is a very beautiful film, calm and sad, gentle and simple. It has no deep ideological connotation, nor ingenious form of expression. As a director's debut work, it is naturally not perfect. But it is also a movie that cannot be judged by storyline, plot, camera, rhythm, etc., just like Neruda's love poem, the most beautiful place is that kind of feeling and situation.
The film didn't cried out the grief, or used a lot of flashbacks to win the audience's sympathy. In fact, the role of Grace did not even appear in a single shot. Instead, you can think of the film as a road movie, where the father takes his daughter on the journey. He called home time and time again just to listen to Grace’s voice in the automatic message; after seeing his elder daughter smoking, the old man took the initiative to buy cigarettes, but he pretended to be choked by the smoke. In this way, the daughter’s thoughts of smoking were dispelled; the youngest daughter hid in the dollhouse because she missed home and missed her mother. The father held back his sorrow and told his daughter that we would buy the house and go back to play in it together...in that kind of soothing and casual In the rhythm of the movie, the film is like a prose poem that blends bitterness and happiness.
Since there is the Iraq War as the background, it is impossible for the film not to have a discussion about the war. This is actually a dangerous trap, because the film must portray Grace and this husband (a former soldier) into heroes of the country's service. To uphold Hollywood's consistent anti-war stance, it is easy to make both sides unpleasant. Fortunately, the film has minimized this topic.
Speaking of John Cusack, most of his previous roles were shrewd, speaking like Woody Allen as sharp and intelligent and eloquent. In this film, the middle-aged Cusack really returned to the basics, silent, restrained, and natural, which can be called his best performance. The actor who plays the eldest daughter is a bit like Christen Dunst or Keira Knightley when he was a child, and his performance is also very eye-catching, easily reminiscent of Evan Rachel Wood and Judy Foss Especially, I'm afraid it will be a promising new star again.
By the way, the soundtrack of the film is very beautiful, this is from Clint Eastwood's handwriting! There is also a Lullaby For Wyatt by Sheryl Crow which is also very nice. With a fresh and simple story and moving music, although this film is not a great masterpiece, it is enough. I believe you will feel happy because of the true feelings of this film.
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