Here is a movie I've been a fan of since it's release in 1990. Gary Oldman is the gem of this film. He plays a long-haired Irish-American thug in New York's Hells Kitchen, employed by an Irish mob headed by his brother played by Ed Harris. This group is backed by the Italian Mafia, and Ed Harris's character is always trying to impress the Mob Chiefton. Sean Penn plays Gary Oldmans child-hood friend and fellow gangster, who left town one day years ago without notice. Now he's back, and welcomed heartily. Without question, he is accepted back into the gang, and put to work. Only problem is, when he left, he went to Boston to become a cop, and now he's undercover and infiltrating his old friends. <br /><br />A tale of loyalty, betrayal, and murder, done with a style befitting a New York gangster flick. And for Irish-Americans such as myself, it's a great movie to drink to on St. Patty's. This is a good film with a solid cast full of action and drunken Irishmen which leads to one of the best endings to any movie ever; a bar room shoot-out with New York's St. Patrick Day parade as the back drop. <br /><br />If this movie had a flavor, It would taste like whiskey. Speaking of whiskey, I have been celebrating St Patricks day every year since '95 by downing several glasses of Jameson, and viewing STATE OF GRACE.----now thats Irish.