State of Grace

"… where crime is a family affair."

1990 2h 15m EN

👍

6.9

SOLID

★6.9TMDB · 442

DramaCrimeThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Hell's Kitchen, New York. Terry Noonan returns home after a ten-year absence. He soon reconnects with Jackie, a childhood friend and member of the Irish mob, and rekindles his love affair with Jackie's sister Kathleen.

“… where crime is a family affair.”

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Cast

Sean Penn
Terry
Ed Harris
Frankie
Gary Oldman
Jackie
Robin Wright
Kathleen
John Turturro
Nick
Burgess Meredith
Finn
R. D. Call
Nicholson
Joe Viterelli
Borelli

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Phil Joanou
Writers: Dennis McIntyre
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 27% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

36 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Phil Joanou, shot by Jordan Cronenweth. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Ennio Morricone. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Claire Simpson shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Sean Penn and Ed Harris and Gary Oldman carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "… where crime is a family affair.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0100685 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Phil Joanou directs. Jordan Cronenweth behind the camera. Ennio Morricone scores. Claire Simpson cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Earned back only 27% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
236 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Directed by Phil Joanou, shot by Jordan Cronenweth. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Ennio Morricone. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Claire Simpson shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Sean Penn and Ed Harris and Gary Oldman carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "… where crime is a family affair.".
8IMDB entry: tt0100685 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 11 themes, including "new york city", "sibling relationship", "mafia boss", "irish mob".
10Released under 14 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Jordan Cronenweth
Original score: Ennio Morricone
Editing: Claire Simpson
Production design: Patrizia von Brandenstein
Makeup / hair: Robert Laden
Sound: Mark Berger
Stunt coordinator: Jery Hewitt
Runtime: 135 min · 2h 15m
Status: Released
Budget: $7,000,000
Box office: $1,911,542
Return: 27% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: State of Grace (1990)

Also by

Phil Joanou

Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2014-11-20
★ 8/10
The Westies. State of Grace is directed by Phil Joanou and written by Dennis McIntyre. It stars Sean Penn, Ed Harris, Gary Oldman, Robin Wright, John Turturo and John C. Reilly. Music is by Ennio Morricone and cinematography by Jordan Cronenweth. Terry Noonan (Penn) returns to Hells Kitchen after a number of years away and finds his best pal, Jackie Flannery (Oldman), is a major player in the Irish/American mob being run by his elder brother, Frankie Flannery (Harris). With a love interest rekindled and a secret he dare not reveal, Terry is soon caught in a maelstrom of danger and tested loyalties. It got lost in the slipstream of Goodfellas, but although it’s not in the same league as Scorsese’s critical darling, State of Grace is a splendid slice of neo-noir gangsterism. The plot is made up of standard genre tropes, divided loyalties, betrayals, kinship, revenge, rivalries, territorial machismo and etc, all of which of course comes laced with spitfire dialogue and sparky violence. The strengths come with the performances of the lead cast members, the visual flourishes via Cronenweth and Joanou and Morricone’s classical score. Penn and Oldman are forces of nature, the former a ball of emotional turbulence, the latter a hopped up maniac with killer tendencies. Harris as the daddio main man is a moody and malevolent presence, as is Joe Viterelli as mafia boss man Borelli. Wright seems a little out of place in this material, Turturo isn’t used nearly enough, but Reilly scores well with a limited role and Burgess Meredith pops in for a superb cameo. It doesn’t have originality on its side, but it’s a mightily strong film regardless, with the human drama drawing one in as the tech skills impress across the board. 8/10
Bazzjazz2018-05-08
★ 8/10
This is a fine film. Loved everything about it! Great ensemble cast, Sean Penn plays a fantastic role as imbedded mole unto his past ‘hoodlum’ friends. Gary Oldman is outstanding with such intensity and dynamic manic character he plays. Robin Wright plays the love interest, and you can understand how Penn fell for her (outside of movie) There’s such great music too. Brilliant soundtrack! Merrideth Burgess plays a lovely cameo which must have been one of his last appearances on film. The st Patrick’s Day Finale is beautifully filmed. Totally loved the film!! Seen it more than once!!