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.

PimpinAinttEasy This film has one of the best star casts of the 90s - Sean Penn, Gary Oldman and Ed Harris in the same movie as lead actors. Robin Wright Penn, John Turtoro, John.C.Reily and Burgess Meredith as supporting actors. The film is about a bunch of Irish gangsters trying to survive in a neighborhood controlled by Italians. Ed Harris and Gary Oldman play gangster brothers while Sean Penn is their friend who comes back to the neighborhood (though he is actually an undercover cop). It could have been one of the best films of the 90s. But the script is weak and the movie relies too much on the histrionics of the enormously talented star cast. There are many great moments mainly thanks to Gary Oldman's acting (he reminded me of Pacino in his later roles). Oldman and Penn are like these two giants who don't get in each others way. Its like each actor knows and respects the other and even though Oldman has all the great scenes, Penn is not upstaged.The background score is by Ennio Morricone. It is used very minimally. They mostly use songs by u2, The Pogues, Guns n Roses and the Rolling Stones. Morricone's score is brooding and melancholic and used to great effect in the final shootout.The film glorifies the Irish and their drinking and their madness and their rivalry with Italians and the writer also throws in some catholic guilt.At one point in the movie Sean Penn's character tells Robin Wright - "You believe... in angels or the saints or that there's such a thing as a state of grace and you believe it. But it's got nothing to do with reality. It's just an idea." I was reading A PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST AS A YOUNG MAN earlier this week and I came across the phrase STATE OF GRACE. This catholic priest is indoctrinating Stephen Dedalus and his mates. And he says the people whose souls are in a state of grace should lead the wavering poor souls back into a STATE OF GRACE.Anyway, the film seems to belittle such an idea, even though in the end Penn does set a lot of things right.

kramachandran From the start the movie builds a thrilling storyline, the characters entering into relationships that are doomed to tragic ends, the protagonist torn between loyalties to two opposing interests and what have we: all the ingredients of a classic thriller. The actors, especially Oldman as Jackie, deserve special mention. The movie delivers and keeps you stuck to your seat. A trivia is that the movie's storyline is so similar to "Parinda" a Bollywood thriller but with a slightly different twist to the plot. It ought to be that this movie lifted the theme from the Bollywood one, as that ( Hindi) movie was released in 1989.

edog101 Just caught this on television and was so impressed with the film I felt compelled to write a review. I'm positive we would have heard much more about this film if it hadn't been released at the same time as Goodfellas. Other users have already lauded the superlative performances by Oldman, Penn, and Harris, so I'll save myself the trouble. Like any great film those behind the camera deserve as much credit as the actors on screen.The direction by Phil Joanou is phenomenal. I missed the opening credits, and throughout the film I had the feeling I was watching an overlooked DePalma masterpiece. I was wrong, but if you've seen The Untouchables or Carlito's Way, I think you'll see where I was coming from. Perhaps this is partially due to what might be the finest aspect of the film--the incredible score by Ennio Morricone (who also wrote the Untouchables score).BEGIN SPOILEROne criticism of the film I have seen on this message board concerns the climactic gun fight at the end. Some argue that the scene is contrived. I would argue that a careful viewing reveals deeply rooted theological themes questioning the nature of existence and the divine (hence Terry Noonan's monologue referencing a "state of grace" as an idea, versus the ugly reality of earthly life). The slow motion gunfight at the end is juxtaposed with images of the simultaneously occurring St. Patrick's Day parade and associated Irish Catholic cultural imagery such as the four leaf clover. It occurred to me that what at first blush appears to be a contrived battle in which the hero prevails against all odds, is in fact a cinematic nod to divine intervention (and in that sense it is a deuce ex machina, and a contrivance--although in my mind, a forgivable one). Frankie Flannery fires shot after point blank shot at Noonan, each one of them missing. Noonan stands motionless as the bullets whiz by and does not return fire until Frankie runs out of bullets. Only then does Noonan fire a single bullet, which hits Frankie square between the eyes, killing him instantly. To me, this symbolizes a divine answer to Noonan's existential questions, as well as a nod to the biblical maxim "I am my brother's keeper" (Book of Genesis)--which can be applied with equal force to Frankie, who is punished for committing fratricide, or Noonan, who is saved for seeking retribution on behalf of Jackie, his murdered friend and putative brother.I should mention that I am pretty much an agnostic bordering on atheist, so personal feelings about the merits of religion or the existence of god played no part in my assessment of the film and what I view to be its theologically inspired themes.