State of Grace (1990) is an American neo-noir crime film released in September 14, 1990. It was directed by Phil Joanou and written by Dennis McIntyre. The film was executive produced by Ned Dowd, Randy Ostrow, and Ron Rotholz and features an original music score by Ennio Morricone. Although not a box office success, the film was generally well received by critics.
The motion picture, shot on location in New York City, tells of a small group of Irish-American gangsters operating in the section of New York City, west of Times Square, known as Hell’s Kitchen. When their territory is threatened by gentrification, the boss, Frankie Flannery tries to arrange an alliance with the Italian Mafia, their long-time rivals. The film was inspired by the real mob gang known as “the Westies.”
Irish gangsters and brothers Jackie (Gary Oldman) and Frankie Flannery (Ed Harris) welcome Terry Noonan (Sean Penn) back to the neighborhood and into their organization after a long absence. Unbeknownst to the gang, however, during his twelve years away Terry has turned his back on criminal life and become a police officer in Boston. He has been sent back to New York specifically to go undercover in his old neighborhood and bring down the Flannerys and their organization before they strike a deal with the Italian Mafia. Terry finds himself in emotional turmoil as his relationships with childhood best-friend Jackie and his teenage sweetheart Kathleen (Robin Wright Penn) – Jackie and Frankie’s younger sister – are rekindled. —Wikipedia
