State of Grace

Play trailer

State of Grace

R

1990

2h 14m

Crime

Drama

Action

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

85%

Tomatometer

26 Reviews

82%

Popcornmeter

5,000+ Ratings

Gone for a decade, Terry Noonan (Sean Penn) is welcomed back into the fold in his Irish-American neighborhood in New York City. A one-time street tough, Terry is now an undercover officer targeting crime boss Frankie Flannery (Ed Harris). In the name of duty, Terry rekindles his dormant friendship with Frankie's younger brother, Jackie (Gary Oldman). But as Terry gets closer to his goal, his feelings for the youngest Flannery, his old flame Kathleen (Robin Wright), complicate his mission.

Watch on Prime Video

Stream Now

Critics Consensus

State of Grace brings an impressive ensemble cast to bear on its epic gangster saga, elevating a largely familiar story with outstanding performances.

Read Critics Reviews

Sheila Benson

Los Angeles Times

Every indulgence, including a two hour and 14 minute running time, is on display.

Rated: 2/5

Jan 3, 2012

Full Review

Variety Staff

Variety

A handsomely produced, mostly riveting, but ultimately overlong and overindulgent gangster picture.

Mar 26, 2009

Full Review

Derek Adams

Time Out

A hugely impressive piece of work for a young director previously known for his documentary U2 Rattle and Hum.

Feb 9, 2006

Full Review

Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

It's (mob) business as usual, elevated by forceful turns by all the principals, particularly Gary Oldman as a twitchy live wire who's fiercely loyal to friends and family.

Rated: 3/4

Feb 9, 2023

Full Review

Rene Jordan

El Nuevo Herald (Miami)

A brilliantly unbalanced gangster melodrama. [Full review in Spanish]

Dec 6, 2022

Full Review

Ross McIndoe

The Skinny

Joanou is no Scorsese but he successfully builds a satisfying crime flick around Oldman's electrifying performance.

Rated: 4/5

Aug 19, 2015

Full Review

Read all reviews

matthew w

I remember watching this as a teen & thought it was the dogs bollocks, but now rewatching it thirty five years later my opinion has definitely changed, yes some of it is really good like the always excellent Harris & the constant grey & seedy look the director generates, it looks great showing the grim underbelly of New York But there is also bad, especially Oldman who ramps the over acting to ten & alone nearly spoils the movie.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/27/25

Full Review

Thomas B

The dialogue is pretty awful, most of the movie feels slow, and Gary Oldman really made some horrible choices throughout the film. His accent is pretty atrocious, too. You’ll see people talk about how this movie was overlooked because it came out so close to Goodfellas, but I think audiences just didn’t recommend this to their friends because it wasn’t entertaining.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

03/19/25

Full Review

dszfa F

Whoever wrote this movie, didn't do a good job too many hokey scenes, not true to life, like the lines said in a bar, are terrible, and other lines just don't make sense, spoiler alert, at the end three guys try to shoot him in a bar and they all Miss even the guy with a shotgun and he takes out all of them Ben Frank comes in and can't hit him at close range keeps hitting glasses and bottles on the bar, but he shoots Frank in the head kills him with one shot, and he gets wounded and lays there and you don't know if he survived

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

03/15/25

Full Review

JuDonne C

Just seeing it. The plot wasn't original but it was an overall good movie. It came out the same year as Goodfellas. Unfortunately you have to come with your A Game releasing a movie ( especially the same genre ) as Martin Scorsese. I loved it though. Goodfellow was better but not by much!

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

12/30/24

Full Review

S K

Fairly entertaining with a solid cast - but undermined by a way over the top acting performance (bordering on satire) by one of my favourites, Gary Oldman.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

12/16/24

Full Review

Mark P

One of the most underrated gangster movies of the last 40 years. It is a must watch

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

12/07/24

Full Review

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

Phil Joanou

Director

Sean Penn

Terry Noonan

Ed Harris

Frankie Flannery

Gary Oldman

Jackie Flannery

Robin Wright

Kathleen Flannery

John Turturro

Nick

Colors

77%

71%

Colors

Watchlist

Four Brothers

53%

80%

Four Brothers

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Four Brothers

Outlaw

21%

52%

Outlaw

Watchlist

Miami Vice

47%

43%

Miami Vice

Watchlist

New Police Story

63%

76%

New Police Story

Watchlist

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

Gary Oldman’s 10 Best Movies

Gary Oldman’s Best-Reviewed Movies

Sean Penn’s 10 Best Movies

View more photos

Synopsis

Gone for a decade, Terry Noonan (Sean Penn) is welcomed back into the fold in his Irish-American neighborhood in New York City. A one-time street tough, Terry is now an undercover officer targeting crime boss Frankie Flannery (Ed Harris). In the name of duty, Terry rekindles his dormant friendship with Frankie's younger brother, Jackie (Gary Oldman). But as Terry gets closer to his goal, his feelings for the youngest Flannery, his old flame Kathleen (Robin Wright), complicate his mission.

Director: Phil Joanou
Producer: Ned Dowd, Randy Ostrow, Ron Rotholz
Screenwriter: Dennis McIntyre
Production Co: Cinehaus, Rank Organisation, Orion Pictures
Rating: R
Genre: Crime, Drama, Action
Original Language: English
Box Office (Gross USA): $1.9M
Runtime: 2h 14m
Sound Mix: Surround

Most Popular at Home Now