Review of State of Grace (1990) by Samson D — 20 Dec 2011

State of Grace had the miserable misfortune of being released the same week as Martin Scorsese's Goodfellas. Goodfellas is a better film, and obviously Scorsese is a much better director than Phil Joanou, however, State of Grace is one hell of a gangster film.

It's directed with extreme style and flair, with an urban noir atmosphere that is absolutely flawless. The story line is good, but it's a little derivative and certainly nothing we've never seen before.

However, the film is astonishing because of Joanou's stylish touch, but more importantly by a slew of great performances by a fucking DREAM cast. Sean Penn, as the tortured undercover cop, spills his demons all over the screen in every scene.

Gary Oldman, who is probably the greatest british film actor the world had seen in a long time at this point, delivers a manic performance full of insane humor and psychopathic violence. Ed Harris is icily menacing as the head of the Irish gang, and perfectly plays the reserved opposite of Gray Oldman's explosive energy.

Three great leads, and already a pretty damn great cast, is augmented by three wonderful supporting performances from John Turturro, John C. Reilly and Robin Wright. Robin Wright provides the only female voice that a film like this needs, playing Penn's love interest.

I've also always thought John C Reilly was a wonderful actor, and he plays the loyal, naive, amateurish dreamer chracter that he would perfect in the latter half of the decade in starring and supporting roles in PT Anderson's near-perfect run of first three films (Hard Eight, Boogie Nights, Magnolia).

Overall, State of Grace (a crime-thriller about a mole in the Irish mob) transcends it's potentially familiar roots with powerfully stylish direction, some gorgeous cinematography, and an absolutely to-die for cast who all deliver great performances.

Also, I loved the ambiguous ending.