As we all know, films about the Iraq war have faired none too well recently. Call it over-exposure, call it war fatigue, call it too soon, but whatever the reason these movies just haven’t connected with a wider audience and some of the time I can see why. Such is not the case with Grace is Gone, an incredibly powerful and poignant film that was a darling at Sundance last year, but somewhere between than and now it just kind of faded from view. But this is a rare treat though, with powerful performances and heartfelt story that tugs at the emotional core and makes you appreciate the full gravity of sacrifice.

We meet Stanley (John Cusack), the middle manager of a Wal-Mart-esque store that’s trying to cope with having his wife Grace away, fighting in Iraq, while he’s at home looking after their two girls Heidi (Shélan O'Keefe) and Dawn (Gracie Bednarczyk). Minding his own business one day, Stanley gets the worst possible news: his wife was killed in action. Now faced with having to first tell his daughters that their mother is dead and then having to raise them on his own, Stanley postpones the inevitable and takes the girls on a road trip to a theme park called Enchanted Gardens.

Everything about this film is very reserved and low key. There’s no shouting heads debating the reasons and rationales about the war and there’s no over the top dramatics. Anchoring it all is an understated performance by John Cusack, who sheds his typical hipster-slacker routine in favour of wearing Stanley’s much for drab and loose-fitting attire. This is a man that is hurting and you can feel that for certain; the way he sleepwalks through the army brass telling him about his wife’s death is a thing of devastating beauty.

Stanley isn’t trying to hide the truth from his children, he’s trying to outrun his own grief and Cusack’s gift is that he makes you feel that grief even if it’s just below the surface of a scene. But the actor also gets good back up from O’Keefe who plays his elder daughter Heidi. Heidi is old enough to be able to grasp the severity of the job her mother is doing, where she’s doing it. She secretly watches the news for information on the war, but does so without the knowledge of her father who’s trying to shelter his daughters from the violence. On their road trip, Heidi begins to suspect that something’s wrong and O’Keefe perfectly plays the combination of befuddlement and perception, proving herself a very capable young actress.

Grace is Gone subtly reminds one of the true cost of war, and the fact that for so many it is a truly high cost indeed. I have a feeling that in the years to come, and as people discover this movie, it will be looked upon as highly reflective of the reasons why that the war in Iraq was the debacle it (currently) is. Grace truly is graceful for the way it invokes true emotion and does so without any kind of blame game. It’s just the turmoil of the typical family paying the real price for service.