Cinematical

Filming is finished for the indie Grace is Gone, which stars John Cusack, and I'm hoping it will find distribution easier than its helmer's previous project. The drama is the directorial debut of writer James C. Strouse, who last penned Steve Buscemi's Lonesome Jim. That film took two years from its shoot to its release date, and then it was barely seen (I think its hilarious, but others seem to disagree). Obviously Cusack is a bigger draw than Casey Affleck, but the former has been in some little films that were also ignored at the box office, so we'll have to wait and see. One thing that is worrisome is that Cusack is described as playing 180 degrees from what audiences are used to. Also, the story sounds pretty dreary. Cusack plays a man whose wife dies in the Iraq War, prompting him to take his daughters on a road trip while delaying telling them about their mother's death. What I'm picturing, and it probably isn't fair to the film, is Cusack's character from Being John Malkovich and the second act of Lolita -- minus the whole incestuous, statutory-rape part, that is.

Cusack took on the role because of his politics: He doesn't agree with the government ban on media coverage of the returning remains of killed soldiers, and he used his belief as motivation in the making of the film. Well, as much as I'm looking forward to this film, I hope that the actor's seriousness is soon over with and he can think about making a Grosse Pointe Blank sequel already.