State of Grace *** (1990, Sean Penn, Ed Harris, Gary Oldman) – Classic Movie Review 7667

Powerhouse acting from Sean Penn, Gary Oldman and especially Ed Harris distinguishes director Phil Joanou’s 1990 State of Grace, a saga of Irish gangsters in New York facing a barrel-load of trouble from the Mafia, the cops and divided loyalties as a New York cop infiltrates his home-town mob.

Joanou’s messy, violent film has nothing new to add to The Godfather, Miller’s Crossing or Goodfellas but it does grab the attention, looks stunning (cinematography by Jordan Cronenweth) and compels respect.

Also in the cast are Robin Wright, John Turturro, Burgess Meredith and John C Reilly.

State of Grace is directed by Phil Joanou, runs 134 minutes, is made by Cinehaus, released by Orion (US) and Rank (UK), is written by Dennis McIntyre, is shot in widescreen by Jordan Cronenweth, is produced by Ned Dowd, Randy Ostrow and Ron Rotholz, and is scored by Ennio Morricone.

© Derek Winnert 2018 Classic Movie Review 7667

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