Week 9 - Grace is Gone

Grace is Gone

Plot 

This film follows Stanley Phillips as he tries to break the news to his daughters about their mother's passing and portrays the grief that comes along with mourning a loved one.

Stanley Phillips

Stanley is an army veteran who loved serving the country, now he is the manager of Home Store, who supports his two daughters by himself as his wife is serving in Iraq. One day, there was a knock on the door and we see two army men. Stanley knows all too well what this means.

After receiving the news, he was in shock and still has not come to terms with the sudden news yet. If feels like the shot of the living room below seems metaphoric for Stanley being alone after his wife's death on the battlefield, and portrays the vastness and emptiness that Stanley is feeling.

The empty living room.

Coping with Death of a Loved One

Stanley then proceeds to wander around the house, peeking into their room, then he enters his daughter's room and lies down on the floor. Maybe because that he and Grace had had many memories with their daughters in their room, as he mentioned in the support group that they tucked their daughters in bed before she left to serve in the army. 

Then there is a video montage of different parts of the house, and this shows that he's going through the entire house doing the same thing, remembering the moments that they had together. We also see many things in the house, and some of the items might belong to Grace, and this shows that bits and pieces of her are still here with us, scattered around the house.

The four chairs in the dining room.

The phone with her voice in the answering machine.

The place where they had their family time.

The bed they slept in.

Next, his daughters come home and brings in food left by the door by someone whom may have heard the news. He told them to not eat it, and took it away from them. He proceeds to bring them out for dinner at 4pm.

After hearing the news, he has began to take more spontaneous actions with his daughters. He asked if they wanted to go somewhere and Dawn wanted to go to Enchanted Gardens, and Heidi was thinking about school and homework. Stanley told them to not worry about homework and that they only have one life to live. He ditches his work as well, maybe this is when he realizes that life is more than just school and work.

After riling the girls up about going on the spontaneous trip, they were confused at first but was happy and excited, we can see and hear all of them laughing and giggling. 

We can see Heidi laughing in the picture below, but Stanley's smile was gone. 

This portrays that the death of his wife is still on his mind and he isn't sure how he is going to break the news to his beloved daughters, right now, he's just making decisions on the go and seeing what will happen. In a way, "Is there anywhere you would like to go" could also portray that he's trying to escape from the truth, the reality that he will no longer see his wife and neither will his daughters.

Maybe he was trying to teach Heidi how to be more spontaneous, because there is more to life, and we just have to grab the opportunities and create our own moments. Heidi says there's nothing that she wants to do, and so Stanley drives out into the field and starts doing doughnuts. 

He also drops by his mother's house as they were on the way to Enchanted Gardens, maybe he was looking for someone to console him, and who do most of us think of first if we ever need comfort, ever since we were young? Our mothers. 

She wasn't home, but Stanley's brother was, and he took his daughters out for lunch. Stanley was finally alone again after spending the entire time driving with his daughters, and he broke down as he slept on his old bed. Maybe this could be interpreted as a portrayal of the defense mechanism of regression, or it may not be because it wasn't shown clearly. 

When his brother finds out about the news, he confronts Stanley, and Stanley goes into an outrage, telling him it's none of his business and to stay out of it. 

He then proceeds to head to Enchanted Gardens, but his brother asks hims to stay and wait for their mother so they can be there for him, which is very important as people who are grieving need as much support as they can get, but this only happens when they're ready to accept it. 

He also calls his house phone occasionally to "update" his wife about how they are doing, and at one point, ask her for advice because he doesn't know what to do, even though he knows that he won't get an answer from the answering machine. 

He also apologizes to Grace through the answering machine, because they got into a fight before she left, and he was angry because he was ashamed that he wasn't the one going.

When they reach Enchanted Gardens, they went on rides, visited the museum and had a blast with each other. He gave them an enjoyable trip before he broke the news to them, maybe he thought that this would help them take in the grief a little better. When they were heading home, Stanley turns into the beach, sits his daughters down and informs them about their mother.

I'm not sure if there is even a right way, but there sure is no easy way. I can feel it from the army men as they broke the news to Stanley, and I can feel it when Stanley broke the news to his daughters.

Grieving families do eventually accept the fact that one of them has passed, and they move on for each other. It doesn't mean that they forget their loved ones that are gone, but rather live on with the memories that they have with them. 

This film also reminds us all to live life purposefully, to create more amazing and loving moments with the ones around us, be it strangers, close friends, or family members, because one day, we too, will pass.