Bayside resident Mark Metcalf is an actor who has worked in movies, TV and on the stage. He is best known for his work in "Animal House," "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Seinfeld."

In addition to his work on screen, Metcalf is involved with the Milwaukee International Film Festival, First Stage Children's Theater and a number of other projects, including the comedy Web site, comicwonder.com.

He also finds time to write about movies for OnMilwaukee.com. In this month's installment of the Screening Room, Mark looks at "Grace is Gone."

GRACE IS GONE (2007)

John Cusack is a bit of a local hero. He should be. He's from Chicago. Even though Chicago is still Chicago, and FIB's live there, drive up here, buy condos downtown, take up space in Door County, don't have the faintest idea how to negotiate the Marquette Interchange and worship the Cubbies, I think we should let up on them a little bit.

It's still the Midwest, and Cusack is loyal to that, at least. And, he is much more working class than most of the guys out there in Hollyweird.

Cusack made a film a couple of years ago called "Grace Is Gone." It was supposed to open the Milwaukee Film Festival in 2007, but the producers pulled it at the last minute. It was replaced by "Son of Rambow" -- a superior film in many ways, but perhaps not as popular, or successful, as the Cusack film would have been in the opening night slot. That's one of those questions we'll never be able to answer (like what would have happened to the economy if we had not invaded Iraq and spent hundreds of billions of dollars trying to maintain a good face in a quagmire of a situation and alienated much of the world as we did. Only it's a much less important question).

Cusack is the producer and the star of "Grace Is Gone." And it's easy to see why an actor like Cusack would chose to get behind this film. He plays a normal, working-class father in Chicago -- a former marine who was discharged because of his eyesight. His wife is also in the military and has been deployed to Iraq. He is at home taking care of their two daughters, being the only male in support-group meetings dominated by the wives of service men, and working his crummy job as a manager of a Home Depot-type store. One morning before work, after the kids are off to school, two men in uniform show up at the door. The long take on Cusack's face when he opens the door is all we need to get the news.

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