State of Grace (1990)

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Simply A Masterpiece

Good concept, poorly executed.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

Certainly one of, if not THE, most overrated film on IMDb, it's so far from being "the best gangster movie ever made" and "an undiscovered gem," it leaves me uncertain whether to laugh or puke. Basically what it is is a Bad Acting Olympics, in which two puerile hams chew scenery, props, costumes and would have finished the camera if left to their own ways. I refer to Gary Oldman, who clearly knows better, and the god-awful Sean Penn, who clearly doesn't. Penn blubbers and weeps and shrieks and curses his way through an overly-convoluted plot whose subplots keep canceling each other out, as (SPOILER) an undercover cop trying to get into an Irish mob comprised mainly of his old friends. Scorsese covered much the same in "The Departed," which was infinitely better than this twaddle. If Penn isn't moping or weeping or shouting, Oldman is (whoever put THEM in the same movie?) while now and then Robin Wright goes all Joan Crawford as well. Only Ed Harris emerges with dignity intact. Terrible phony gunfight at end comes from nowhere, director has no idea what he's doing, cop subplot simply trickles out. People who praise this belong in a special room in hell with admirers of "Patch Adams" and "Scent of a Woman."

This film has one of the best star casts of the 90s - Sean Penn, Gary Oldman and Ed Harris in the same movie as lead actors. Robin Wright Penn, John Turtoro, John.C.Reily and Burgess Meredith as supporting actors. The film is about a bunch of Irish gangsters trying to survive in a neighborhood controlled by Italians. Ed Harris and Gary Oldman play gangster brothers while Sean Penn is their friend who comes back to the neighborhood (though he is actually an undercover cop). It could have been one of the best films of the 90s. But the script is weak and the movie relies too much on the histrionics of the enormously talented star cast. There are many great moments mainly thanks to Gary Oldman's acting (he reminded me of Pacino in his later roles). Oldman and Penn are like these two giants who don't get in each others way. Its like each actor knows and respects the other and even though Oldman has all the great scenes, Penn is not upstaged.The background score is by Ennio Morricone. It is used very minimally. They mostly use songs by u2, The Pogues, Guns n Roses and the Rolling Stones. Morricone's score is brooding and melancholic and used to great effect in the final shootout.The film glorifies the Irish and their drinking and their madness and their rivalry with Italians and the writer also throws in some catholic guilt.At one point in the movie Sean Penn's character tells Robin Wright - "You believe... in angels or the saints or that there's such a thing as a state of grace and you believe it. But it's got nothing to do with reality. It's just an idea." I was reading A PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST AS A YOUNG MAN earlier this week and I came across the phrase STATE OF GRACE. This catholic priest is indoctrinating Stephen Dedalus and his mates. And he says the people whose souls are in a state of grace should lead the wavering poor souls back into a STATE OF GRACE.Anyway, the film seems to belittle such an idea, even though in the end Penn does set a lot of things right.

I'll start with the positive, which is a great cast led by Sean Penn, and supported by Gary Oldman, Ed Harris, and John C. Reilly. They are all as good as expected. The negative is the over two hour length, and the overall darkness of the film. Sean Penn is Terry Noonan, and he has returned to Hell's Kitchen in New York after a long absence. He reunites with his old friends, Jackie and Frankie, and also hooks up with Jackie's sister, Kathleen. His buddies are members of the Westies, the notorious Irish mobsters of Manhattan. Terry is actually an undercover cop, sent to infiltrate the gang. Jackie shoots and kills three Italian Mafia guys, and their boss meets with his brother, Frankie, and he is ordered to kill his sibling. He sets him up at a meeting for a cash payment, and shoots him. Terry finds out, and winds up in a shoot out with the Westies at a bar. The ending is rather ambiguous, and, overall, State of Grace never clicked for me.

This movie somehow escaped me until 2012, but after seeing it now for the first time I am surprised it is not mentioned in the same breadth as so many of the other gangster/NYC classics. Hard hitting, jarring, raw and real...Gary Oldman delivers a performance with remarkable energy and emotion. The range from this performance to what he has recently done with Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, has cemented in my mind that he is one of our generations best actors! Aside from Mr. Oldman the film contains many other fine performances from great actors such as Ed Harris, Sean Pean, Robin Wright, Burgess Meredith, John C. Riley, and was directed by Phil Jonou. Don't miss this movie!