Overshadowed by GoodFellas when it was released in 1990, State of Grace gradually emerged as one of the best New York gangster films of its decade. It was also the first to feature the Irish American mob known as the Westies. Here, their territory west of Times Square is being gentrified by an unwelcome infusion of yuppie cash, squeezing them into a reluctant alliance with Mafia kingpins. Frankie (Ed Harris) is the boss; little brother Jackie (Gary Oldman) is his volatile muscle; their friend Terry (Sean Penn) has returned from an extended absence, harbouring a dangerous... secret while rekindling his love for Frankie and Jackie's sister Kathleen (Robin Wright, Penn's future wife). Giving one of his scariest, most violent performances, Oldman offers stark, brutal contrast to Harris's pent-up fury, while Penn breathes life into his character's standard-issue dilemma. A former protégé of Steven Spielberg's, director Phil Joanou handles this gritty potboiler with confident, unobtrusive style, ramping up the tension of divided loyalties, even as the plot grows increasingly familiar. --Jeff Shannon [show more]
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Sean Penn, Ed Harris and Gary Oldman star in this neo-noir crime drama directed by Phil Joanou. Irish-American Terry (Penn) returns to his old neighbourhood after a mysterious absence. He is reunited with his childhood friend Jackie (Oldman) who is now working in arson and extortion rackets, but a possible alliance with an Italian mob brings trouble for Terry's friends. The film is based on real-life New York gang, The Westies, who ruled 'Hell's Kitchen' during the 1970s.
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