Now this is what I call a mobster movie. There has definitely been a more gruesome mafia movie where certain scenes require a hand over the face, but despite the year the plot held its own in comparison to more recent movies of the same genre, crime that is. Sure there weren’t any over the top action scenes such as extensive chasing or fighting, but the story manages to get me to sympathize with people who are supposed to be villains which I believe was the point. Seeing that the story is taking place in New York’s Hell Kitchen, some scenes left me puzzled.
The streets in State of Grace seemed kind of empty to be the Big Apple. A particular scene where this was completely obvious remains when Frankie, played by Ed Harris, shoots a couple of mob bosses and walks out of the bar as if nothing had happened. So he gets in his car, and the shot of him driving away is a high-angle shot of the car and streets of New York; the streets seemed particularly empty for New York in broad day light.
The movie contained a good amount of establishing shots. Most scenes began with a bar or a building of some sort. I have seen many movies where establishing shots are very common, and in most of these movies, the story seems to take place in New York or cities such as Seattle. Maybe it’s the buildings in these cities that leave the directors and movie producers inspired. For a movie with minimal action where mobsters are having “life and death conversations,” I expected much more close-up shots of the different characters, but that was somewhat lacking or maybe I was not paying attention enough to this particular factor. Definitely something to think about if I ever watch it again!
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