Customer Reviews

State of Grace (Widescreen)

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Phil Joanou had an incredible palette of talent to work with in creating this dark and troublesome work of art. Even the lesser parts are filled with personalities such as John Turturro, Robin Wright (then without the Penn), RD Call, John C. Reilly and Burgess Meredith. The score composed by Ennio Morricone has a haunting, eerie saunter, infected with an obvious full note that jerks you out of its hypnotic trance. Watching this film in 2005 takes one back to a number of other great and powerful films of the early 90's that used the noir anti-heroes as their central character. Comparing State of Grace to Abel Ferrara pieces such as Bad Lieutenant and King of New York would not be far-fetched.

Penn's performance as Terry is wrought with inner turmoil, culminating in his bedside confession to Wright's Kathleen. While explaining Hell's Kitchen and it's irk to Turturro he wanes "we're Irish, all we know how to do is drink," a telling testimony that typifies the culture soon to be taken over by the newly christened Clinton inner-city development. His inward reflection is mirrored by the exuberance of Jackie, played with perfection by Oldman. With his cavalier swagger he seems to lack the part of the genetic code that relays fear. Jackie takes risk to new levels while seriously jeopardizing older brother Frankie's (Harris) plans to form an alliance with elements of the Italian mob. Harris's taught composure throughout the film is a fine study in character definition; a true Jeckyl and Hyde persona, playing the suburban family man by day, and slitting the throats of childhood friends by night.

We've seen little in the form of feature offerings from Joanou, aside from U2's Rattle and Hum and Heaven's Prisoners. It is interesting to note his continuing contribution to U2's music video collection, as well as a number of TV commercials. His close association with the mega band lent a big break in acquiring music rights for his 2000 production Entropy.

This film catches absolutey brilliant performances by 6 very talanted actors. The theme is real. Read a book called The Westies by T.J. English and you will see how close this film is to real life. The moods, the scenes, the dialogue and the story all work up to a true masterpeice. This is an undiscovered treasure and if director Phil Joanou only made one brilliant work then this is it. It happens to many artists. Nevertheless this film is fantastic work of art.

Killer movie-must have,look @ the cast & imagine them @ their best.Need I say more?

State of Grace is a good movie with great actors. The film follows a conventional storyline but is "buoyed up" by the novelty of the subject, the Irish Mob. About half way through the movie, the various characters start to interact in interesting ways, and the film acquires a momentum that it keeps until the end.

Unfortunately, none of the characters seems sufficiently developed to draw the viewer completely into the turmoil that is unfolding on the screen. Terry is the most complex character portrayed, but ultimately, at the end of the movie, I didn't really care what happened to Terry or his girlfriend, Kathleen. For me, becoming involved in a character's experience on screen is what separates adequate films from great films.

I give State of Grave three and a half stars. State of Grace is no Goodfellas, but watch it for compelling performances by Sean Penn and Gary Oldman, for the unique subject matter and for some fun action sequences. However, if you want to be inspired, or devastated, or watch a movie that conveys broader themes than what is happening physically on screen, I would recommend watching something else. This movie is a snapshot into a world, nothing more, nothing less. It left me with a vague feeling of emptiness and I won't be adding State of Grace to my DVD library anytime soon.

Terry Noonan (Sean Penn) returns to Hell's Kitchen after a ten year absence. He immediately falls back in with his childhood friend Jackie ( Gary Oldman), whose brother Frankie ( Ed Harris)is now running a powerful Irish mob. Frankie's organization is looking to make a deal with the Italian Mafia, and Jackie wants Terry brought in to make things run smoother. Unfortunately, Terry is also an undercover cop, and his sole purpose for coming back is to infiltrate Frankie's organization. Things become even more complicated, when Terry manages to rekindle an old romance with Jackie's sister Kathleen (Robin Wright). Now Terry is torn between his job, and remaining loyal to his friends and the woman he loves.

When people bring up the subject of mob films, State of Grace is never mentioned. The story behind the film is very captivating because it shows the fine line between standing by your friends, and doing what's right. The film does a very good job at masking Terry Noonan's intentions because you can never tell which side he is truly playing for. State of Grace is an original in the mob genre because it offers a look at the Irish mob, instead of the Italians. The Irish are natural born fighters and extremely violent. This is what made State of Grace such a powerful mob film. The cast is first rate in this film featuring Sean Penn, Gary Oldman, Ed Harris, Robin Wright, John C. Reily, and John Turturo. Each actor involved was brilliant in their roles.

Overall, State of Grace is probably one of the best mob films I have ever seen, and one of the most underrated films ever made. The story was captivating from beginning to end, the entire cast did a first rate job, and you get to take a first hand look at the Irish mob.

A solid 5 stars...

***  stars rating for this film. "State Of Grace" is not a copy of "The Godfather" or "GoodFellas", it's a story about a second-rated group of gangsters that are trying to gain respect and territory in New York. The first thing that you can notice in "State Of Grace" is the cast: Sean Penn, Gary Oldman, Ed Harris, Robin Wright, John C. Reilly and John Turturro, among others.

In Hollywood there are three actors that can portray over-the-top villains, and still be believable and threatening. One of them is Gary Oldman, in a very convincing performance. The other two guys are Christopher Walken and Dennis Hopper, but the role in "State Of Grace" was perfect for Gary Oldman.

"State Of Grace" is a movie that never is boring, these anti-heroes are so well portrayed by the cast, that the characters have a very human quality, they are very complex and multidimensional characters, and as a result, the audience is always interested in them. The biggest selling point of "State Of Grace" is the fact that the film never tries to imitate "The Godfather", and that originality is welcome.

I first seen this movie soon after it was released (VHS) and was very impressed considering most people hadn't heard of it. It was refreashing to see a director who finally wanted to make a movie about the Irish Mob, who afterall were the longest established organised crime group in NY. I strongly disagree with a reviewer from Medford, NY who described Oldman's character as somewhat over the top. In my opinion, this is Oldman's finest performance to date! Having read many books on the Westside Irish Mob (as they refered to themselves) including The Westies by T.J English, Oldman brought the real life character Mickey Featherstone to life on our screens in Oscar style fashion! Believe me , these characters are not your average Italian style gangster; slick-back hair, well dressed killers. Most of these men had no such delusions of grandeuer when it came to how they looked. Many were hard drinking heroin addicts who if hadn't been shot, would have killed themselves anyway! These story lines have a much harder edge than your average Italian/Jewish gangster film because of a notorious drug and drinking culture that the other two etnic crime groups considered to be sloppy and unprofessional. Other films such as Southie have tackled these issues also, portraying a family from the projects coming to terms with alcoholism, drug abuse and gun culture. Don't get me wrong, I love Goodfellas and The Godfather but you have to admit, you won't beat the Irish when it comes to telling a story with typically unique ingredients. Jonau, indeed, could have been far more brutal in his portrayal of these men. Storys of a victem's head being taken on a pub crawl of the westside are now legendary. Ed Harris and Sean Penn turn in fantastic performances also, but Gary Oldman steals the show. I couldn't believe it when I found out shortly after watching the movie that Oldman is infact English. His portrayal of what is generally accepted to be Mickey Featherstone, is awsome! Those of you used to your typical Italian gangster movie be prepared for a crash landing into the world of psycotic, alcoholic, drug addicted killers! No dyed hair and flashy suits here! Just cold blooded, knee jerk reaction murder!

Unfortunately, this film is no lost classic. It comes off as completely routine, adding absolutely nothing to an already (by 1990) saturated genre niche (the New York gangster 'slice of life'). Indeed, 'State of Grace's only viable claim to fame is that it is mainstream film which added a third ethnic type to its contemporary Italian and Jewish mob 'vogue' templates set by 'The Godfather' films, especially Part 3 (also 1990), 'Goodfella's' (uhh 1990) and 'Once Upon a Time in America'(1984). Phil Jaonou, the director who's previous credits included a rather mediocre U2 concert, was up against a deep-set tapestry of myth created by Coppola, Leone and Scorcese: it was inevitable that this film was going to flounder, and it did.

Good mood piece, though. Excellent performances by the central figures (especially Gary Oldman at a time before his rent-a-villain slump set a bourgeoning career into doldrum territory). Any film with an Ennio Morricone score can't be that bad, right? One niggle: when are American filmmakers going to stop exploiting and start debunking that obviously romanticised New York epicentred 'Good ole Oirish, Beggorah!!' myth. Could 'State of Grace' with hindsight be retitled 'Gangs of New York: One Century Later'?

This film is definitely worth seeing, and has grown on me with repeated viewings. It is well directed and well cast, and it manages at times to be unpredicatable even though it has a somewhat formulaic, standard-issue plot. Sean Penn is good (as always) and manages to portray his character's angst and moral dilemma well, Ed Harris is intense, frightening and good, Robin Wright is very good (as always).....but, Gary Oldman is simply brilliant. He delivers a volatile, powerful, and credible performance. His signature intensity is definitely present and well suited for this role, and he also infuses the role with subtle nuance and complexity and poignancy. Oldman breathes incredible life into his character, which allows this movie to (almost) transcend its gangster foundation. As Oldman is capable of doing, he really disappears into this role, blending into the fabric of the character, allowing me to forget (temporarily) that I'm watching an actor portraying a role. This film is worth watching stricly for the acting....especially Oldman's brilliant turn.

the greatest movie i have ever seen,there was no hype when it was released in 1990. after watching sean penn,oldman,harris and robin-wright it should have cleaned up at the oscars!
a must see film.