State of Grace (1990) is an American neo-noir[1] crime film released in September 14, 1990. It was directed by Phil Joanou and written by Dennis McIntyre. The film was executive produced by Ned Dowd, Randy Ostrow, and Ron Rotholz and features an original music score by Ennio Morricone.[2] Although not a box office success, the film was generally well received by critics.
The motion picture, shot on location in New York City, tells of a small group of Irish-American gangsters operating in the section of New York City, west of Times Square, known as Hell's Kitchen. When their territory is threatened by gentrification, the boss, Frankie Flannery tries to arrange an alliance with the Italian Mafia, their long-time rivals. The film was inspired by the real mob gang known as "the Westies."
Plot
Jackie (Gary Oldman) and Frankie Flannery (Ed Harris) welcome Terry Noonan (Sean Penn) back to the neighborhood and into their organization after a long absence. Unbeknownst to the gang, however, during his time away Terry has become a police officer in Boston. He's been brought back to New York specifically to go undercover in his old neighborhood and bring down the Irish gangsters before they strike a deal with the Italian mafia.
Cast
Critical reception
State of Grace was generally well received by critics. Of the reviews collected from notable publications by popular review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an overall approval rating of 86%.[3] Janet Maslin, film critic for The New York Times, wrote, "Mr. Joanou attempts to capture the sense of place that defines urban crime, and the ethnic and territorial distinctions that give it shape. He is successful much of the time here." Maslin was appreciative of the acting in the film, and wrote, "Jackie Flannery is played by the phenomenal Gary Oldman, who since Sid and Nancy has taken on a string of new accents and dramatic identities with stunning ease," and "Jackie's icy older brother, who is played by Ed Harris with an eeriness to match Mr. Oldman's."[4]
Film critic Vincent Leo lauded the work of actor Sean Penn, and wrote, "While Oldman gets the accolades for his energetic performance, it is really Penn's inner demons that provides the film with the right amount of conflict, always letting us be aware that fine lines are the difference between life and death, as well as right and wrong, out in the streets of New York. Is Penn doing the noble thing by taking down the criminals, or is he a rat bastard, disowning himself from the way of life and people who helped him along the way? It's the question that makes him sick to the pit of his stomach, and Penn shows it in his face with almost every scene."[5]
The Chicago Sun-Times film critic Roger Ebert, was also impressed, and wrote, "Gary Oldman's performance in the movie is the best thing about it...Oldman's character is more pure. He acts only on the basis of his instincts and prejudices, or out of vengeance and fear."[6]
Distribution
The producers used the following tagline when marketing the film:
- The Irish Mob in New York.
The film was released in a limited basis on September 14, 1990. The box office receipts the first week were $179,927 (14 screens).[7]
According to "The Numbers" web site the film was in circulation a few weeks and appeared in 335 screens in its widest release. Receipts for the run were $1,911,542.[8]
Roger Ebert believes the difficulty State of Grace had at the box office was due to another film with the same theme being released the same year, namely, Martin Scorsese's Goodfellas.[9] Other gangster films released in Hollywood during the year include: Miller's Crossing and the Godfather Part III.
Soundtrack
Soundtrack CD Cover. Note the
neo-noir look.
The original music soundtrack was released on October 1, 1990 by MCA.
The CD has eighteen tracks, is 52:29 in length, and features the original score composed for the film scored by Ennio Morricone.
Other songs in film
In the scene where Jackie introduces his girlfriend to Terry, the song "Trip Through Your Wires" by the band U2 can be heard playing in the background. This song and the song "Exit," both are cuts from The Joshua Tree (1987) album and are also played in the trailer for the film. Director Phil Joanou previously directed U2's live concert documentary U2: Rattle and Hum (1988) and, later, their music video for the single "One" (1992). Guns N Roses' "Sweet Child o' Mine" plays in a bar scene.
Miscellaneous
The word "fuck" and its derivatives are used approximately 230 times in the film, which averages out to 1.71 times every minute.
See also
- The Westies: Irish-American organized crime gang in Hell's Kitchen, New York.
References
Notes
- ^ Silver, Alain and Elizabeth Ward, eds. Film Noir: An Ecyclopedic Reference to the American Style, "Filmography of neo-noir," page 438, 3rd Edition. Woodstock, New York: The Overlook Press. ISBN 0-87951-479-5.
- ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0100685/ State of Grace at the Internet Movie Database.
- ^ State of Grace at Rotten Tomatoes. Last accessed: December 4, 2007.
- ^ Maslin, Janet. The New York Times, film review, September 14, 1990.
- ^ Leo, Vincent. Qwipster, film review.
- ^ Ebert, Roger. The Chicago Sun-Times, film review, September 14, 1990. Last accessed: June 8, 2008.
- ^ Box Office Mojo box office data.
- ^ The Numbers box office data. Last accessed: December 5, 2007.
- ^ Ebert, Roger. Ibid.
External links
