Stars: Sean Penn, Ed Harris, Gary Oldman, Robin Wright, John Turturro

Director: Phil Joanou

Summary: An under-cover cop returns to his roots to seek out the violent element. Divided loyalties increase the danger and reduce efficiency.

Terry Noonan returns to New York's Hell Kitchen after twelve years to find that his old neighbourhood of seedy bars and Irish-American mobsters has been taken over by Yuppies hell-bent on gentrification. Terry's childhood buddies, ruthless gang leader Frankie Flannery and his psychotic brother Jackie, are determined to keep the neighbourhood's tradition of organised -- and extremely violent -- crime alive. Terry joins Frankie's gang and gets back together with his former love, Frankie's sister Kathleen. But as the cops crack down on the Flannery crime ring, it becomes clear that Terry's loyalties are dangerously divided.

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Overshadowed by GoodFellaswhen it was released in 1990, State of Gracegradually 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

Aspect Ratio:	1.85 Wide Screen, 16:9 Anamorphic Wide Screen
Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Special Features:	Trailer - 1. Original Theatrical Trailer
Year:	1990
Release Date:	June 23, 2003
Runtime:	128 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	24369 D V D
Keywords:	Action, General, Wide, Screen, State, Grace, Adventure
Genre:	Action/Adventure