About State of Grace
Post 1257:
State of Grace is a movie from 1990, so I figured I’d get around to making my comments about it here in 2022. It takes me a little while to collect my thoughts. Sometime around 1993 I got distracted. It happens.
The thing that attracted me to this film was the cast. It’s crazy good. Gary Oldman, Sean Penn, and Ed Harris are the leads. You’ve also got John C. Reilly, John Turturro, Robin Wright, on and on.
The performances are all what you’d expect. Especially Penn and Oldman. They give this regular organized crime tale something extra. 1990 New York is grimy, gross, and a place you’d never want to go. This isn’t a romantic tale. More like a typical undercover cop gets-too-deep-in-the organization type situation.
Something like The Departed, which, although long, was more kinetic and stylized. State of Grace is drab and tense in its own way. I would say it doesn’t entertain as much as it immerses. I felt Sean Penn’s character as he tried to live the false life of a criminal while keeping his soul and staying true to his job as a cop.
All in all, I think this is an overlooked movie that deserves a watch. Very much for adults who don’t mind slow burns. What we’ve got here is a crime drama that’s more drama than crime, though there is a good deal of violence. I’m desensitized, so keep that in mind. Gary Oldman acting like a freaking lunatic is enough to keep me going. He really is a nutter in this.
I would say that the filmmakers wanted us to really live with these characters, but they slightly miscalculated. Some scenes are too long. A few sequences could’ve been cut. I know that it was all about establishing characters and relationships, but I felt like we were treading over the same ground every so often. It’s a small criticism, not enough to put me off.
If you like rainbows and sunshine and feel-good stories about ponies and cupcakes, probably it’s best you avoid State of Grace. If your idea of a good time is complicated sibling dynamics, getting punched in the face and feeling super down about the direction the world is heading, strap in and break out the popcorn. Cheers and see you after.
