Critic Rating
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Director
Phil Joanou
Cast
Sean Penn,
Gary Oldman,
Ed Harris,
Robin Wright,
John Turturro,
John C. Reilly
Genre
Crime,
Drama,
Thriller
After a ten year absence, Terry Noonan returns to his old neighborhood in Hell's Kitchen, becoming reacquainted with his childhood pals, brothers Jackie and Frankie, both of whom are involved in the area's Irish mafia. Soon, Terry is torn between his loyalty to his friends and his loyalties to others, as he is secretly working as an undercover cop trying to infiltrate the mafia.
Newsweek by David Ansen
Joanou has an intricate, beautifully built script to work from (David Rabe did a lot of uncredited rewriting) and he unfolds his charged story of violence, fratricide, and betrayal with masterly assurance. [17 Sep 1990, p.54]
Entertainment Weekly by Owen Gleiberman
The movie has been shot with a pleasingly overripe visual flair, and on its own terms it’s fairly entertaining. Yet it isn’t about anything so much as its own explosiveness.
Chicago Sun-Times by Roger Ebert
The movie is so sincere and confused in its values that it mirrors the goofy loyalties and violent pathology of its characters.
San Francisco Chronicle by Mick LaSalle
At times, State of Grace, which was written by the late playwright Dennis McIntyre and rewritten by David Rabe, is a little too writerly, a little too calculated to impress. Still the dialogue is good; the momentum builds, and some of the simplest scenes, such as a few between Penn and Wright, have real power. [05 Oct 1990, p.E1]
USA Today by Mike Clark
The ambitious State of Grace is full of imposing moments, several of them among the screen's most violent since the heyday of Sam Peckinpah. [14 Sep 1990, p.4D]
The Seattle Times by Michael Upchurch
Numerous fine performances carry the film, with Oldman's Jackie as the standout. [21 Sep 1990, p.24]
The New York Times by Janet Maslin
With coolly expressive cinematography by Jordan Cronenweth and an insinuating Ennio Morricone score, State of Grace has a somber and chilling tone that is only occasionally breached.
Rolling Stone by Peter Travers
The movie is marred by overkill, especially in the brutal and bloated allegorical ending, which feels lifted, clumsily, from The Godfather. State of Grace is most powerful and gripping when it stays true to the emotions of its characters.
St. Louis Post-Dispatch by Harper Barnes
On the whole, director Phil Joanou and writer Dennis McIntyre have done a first-rate job of giving us believable characters acting believably in a believable (if horrific) situation. [05 Oct 1990, p.3F]
Orlando Sentinel by Jay Boyar
All things considered, State of Grace is far from a must-see gangster film. But I guess it'll do until the next one comes along. [05 Oct 1990, p.8]
TV Guide Magazine
Visually, State of Grace joins Miller's Crossing as one of the best-looking movies in ages. But, as it nears its bloody ending, the film just gets dumber and dumber.
Variety
State of Grace is a handsomely produced, mostly riveting, but ultimately overlong and overindulgent gangster picture.
Chicago Tribune by Dave Kehr
The sentiments expressed are really no more noble or refined than those of a Chuck Norris picture, though Joano's style tries to stamp art all over the sequence. It sure isn't that, but it isn't good action either. [14 Sep 1990, p.B]
Washington Post by Rita Kempley
The blarney and bohunkery builds to a shaky apex of nothingness, then ends with a slaughter in slo-motion, a romantic ode of blood, bullets and body parts.
Los Angeles Times by Sheila Benson
Unfortunately, what director Joanou makes of all these promising elements is thudding pretentiousness.
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