GamerTab That was an excellent one.

Titreenp SERIOUSLY. This is what the crap Hollywood still puts out?

Bergorks If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.

Phillipa Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

betty dalton I cant really criticize this movie besides the fact that it is aiming to be a crime classic, but fails at it. Besides that, everything is done with style: photography, acting, soundtrack, they are all to be commended. Good acting, gorgeous photograhpy, but what is lacking is greatness. I think director Phil Joanou is to blame for that. Somehow he mixed the perfect ingredients the wrong way. It is always tricky to mix a lovestory with a crimestory. Somehow it didnt work for me. It wanted to be a tough gangstermovie, but it wanted to portray a lovestory too. The endresult is that it is neither.Believability is paramount: I have to be able to see the actors perform real life characters in a way that I can believe in. And somehow Sean Penn's undercover role just wasnt very believable because of the context of the story: an undercover cop who infiltrates a crimescene consisting of childhood friends. Naah, that just spoils the believability for me. The flaws in credibility of the story really ruined this picture.Acting is great though. Oldman played his usual hysterical maniac. Brilliant. But Penn's role shrunk to the size of a peanut compared to the power of Oldman. And Robin Wright was mostly there to be pretty, which she was. She can act too, but her role wasnt very believable in the context of the story either. It could have been a much better movie with some better direction and adaptations to the credibility of the story. Still I watched it till the end, because it is certainly not a bad movie. It is a movie that could have been a classic, but failed at that. Nothing more frustrating though than third place when you are aiming for first. Come to think of it this movie is typical of many Sean Penn movies: style over content. He looks the part, but is a buffoon.

harwhitehead Based on the Westies gang in West Manhattan. State of Grace is the fictionalized account of the so called Irish mob, the Westies. Great suspense!

Hunt2546 Certainly one of, if not THE, most overrated film on IMDb, it's so far from being "the best gangster movie ever made" and "an undiscovered gem," it leaves me uncertain whether to laugh or puke. Basically what it is is a Bad Acting Olympics, in which two puerile hams chew scenery, props, costumes and would have finished the camera if left to their own ways. I refer to Gary Oldman, who clearly knows better, and the god-awful Sean Penn, who clearly doesn't. Penn blubbers and weeps and shrieks and curses his way through an overly-convoluted plot whose subplots keep canceling each other out, as (SPOILER) an undercover cop trying to get into an Irish mob comprised mainly of his old friends. Scorsese covered much the same in "The Departed," which was infinitely better than this twaddle. If Penn isn't moping or weeping or shouting, Oldman is (whoever put THEM in the same movie?) while now and then Robin Wright goes all Joan Crawford as well. Only Ed Harris emerges with dignity intact. Terrible phony gunfight at end comes from nowhere, director has no idea what he's doing, cop subplot simply trickles out. People who praise this belong in a special room in hell with admirers of "Patch Adams" and "Scent of a Woman."

trublu215 State of Grace pits an undercover cop against the Irish mob in Hell's Kitchen that is coincidently ran by his best friends. Starring Sean Penn, Gary Oldman, Ed Harris and Robin Wright, this film is a masterpiece that was overshadowed at the time of its release to what would end up becoming the best mob film ever made, Goodfellas. State of Grace showcases powerful performances from Penn and Oldman along with Harris delivering one of the most interesting mob characters of all time with Frankie Flannery. Gary Oldman's performance as the volatile Jackie Flannery is some of the best work Oldman has done which makes it a bit frustrating considering this film could have scored him an Oscar nomination if it was released at a better time. Instead, Oldman would have to wait until some twenty years later to even get a nod. It is a true joy to watch him on the screen and he is one of the only actors who could have pulled that role off. No matter how violent Jackie is or how cold he is, you still root for him...even if he is playing with a dead man's severed hand. The screenplay is tightly wound, making it extremely difficult to walk away from it for even a second. Every scene builds with an incredible amount of tension and allows Penn to flourish as Terry Noonan, who is literally one step away from being figured out and his paranoia sometimes gets the best of him...and us for that matter. This is a film that NEEDS to be seen, it is an absolute blast of entertainment that has been swept under the rug for far too long and deserves an audience. Directed by Phil Joanau, it is a taut and suspenseful film that shoots out of the gate with fury and ends with somber, sobering note in a bar shootout during the St. Patrick's Day parade in New York City. This is grade A entertainment for anyone craving a good mob movie or a good film in general. Overall, I highly recommend this film, it is brutal, powerful and thoroughly captivating.