State of Grace

Potential Spoilers

All but forgotten among the several Mob dramas of 1990 is STATE OF GRACE, a nonetheless involving and sometimes potent motion picture with a cast of heavy hitters, all turning in performances that are reason enough to invest the two plus hours.  The film was directed by Phil Joanou, a one time protege of Steven Spielberg whose career never quite hit the trajectory his early work might've predicted.  This would include the cult and cable fave THREE O'CLOCK HIGH, which is long overdue for my revisit.  He would also direct several music videos for Tom Petty and U2.  For the latter, he shot the theatrical concert film RATTLE AND HUM, which had the audience I saw it with hooting and hollering and on their feet.

Dennis McIntyre's script is a somber, familiar tale of the "you can't escape your past" and "you can't go home again" variety.  The setting is Hell's Kitchen in NYC, which is being overrun with yuppies and their dogs (and now called "Clinton").  The old 'hood is made up largely of Irish-Americans, some of whom are in organized crime.  Their mafia has alliances and rivalries with the Italians.  Frankie Flannery (Ed Harris) is the older brother of Jackie (Gary Oldman) and Kathleen (Robin Wright) and is a local boss.  He has regular, often tense meetings with adversary Joe Borelli (Joe Viterelli).  Everyone's jockeying for turf, shakedowns for protection money from barkeeps, and respect.   Frankie is fierce but cool and wise.  Jackie is volatile, unfocused, a loose cannon whose alcoholism only heightens his impulsivity and bad judgment, which may lead to irrevocable consequences.

There's also Terry Noonan (Sean Penn), childhood friend of the aforementioned, who returns after a ten year absence.  He even tries to get back together with Kathleen, who's trying to forget Hell's Kitchen and make it uptown.  Terry says he's been drifting around the country doing odd jobs.  The truth is he became a cop in Boston and has been recruited by his boss, Nick (John Turturro) to infiltrate his old gang. 

Little of surprise unfolds in STATE OF GRACE, though there are the occasional moments where the path set up may lead you elsewhere.  Joanou's direction is confident and not too flashy for most of the running time.  Unlike that of Martin Scorsese, whose GOODFELLAS opened around the same time and entirely overshadowed this picture.  It's not really fair to compare this movie to that, or MILLER'S CROSSING, or even GODFATHER III.  The storytelling is always compelling, even if McIntyre's script is only so-so.  I probably should've seen this movie thirty plus years ago, when it probably seemed fresh.  Nowadays it plays very workmanlike, content to be fodder for those who will watch any Mafia flick.  The local color is nicely rendered. 

Penn is refreshingly understated, while Oldman steals the movie with a kinetic performance.  Harris does icy malevolence very well here. Vitrelli is as Mafia-like as ever, and he and R.D. Call (as Frankie's right hand man) have great faces for these sort of characters. 

Jordan Cronenweth again contributes beautiful photography.  Ennio Morricone's score is fine if overused.

The finale of STATE OF GRACE was quite a switcheroo, a slow motion ballet of bullets and spurting blood that looked inspired by the likes of John Woo and Sam Peckinpah.  It clashes with the brooding restraint of the rest of the movie.  Seen in isolation, it's an impressive sequence (intercut with the St. Patrick's Day parade).  In the context of the film, it seems like a studio mandated sellout.