Lone Star

In "Lone Star", a skull is found in an isolated part of a Texas border county which begins an investigation by the local Sheriff who must unlock a closet full of skeletons to solve the mystery. Critically acclaimed and a high scoring flick on this website, "Lone Star" is a film to be reckoned with. It features solid performances without the usual blockbuster star power, an engaging story, a real feel, and masterful editing which allows for a seamless presentation of the numerous flashbacks required to tell the story. You'll find little emoting or little reason to emote in this matter-of-fact contemporary film which ends with a kicker. Worth a look for just about anyone mature enough for the subject matter.

John Sayles' direction of this film reminded me of Hitchcock in that I was always aware of the director's style and I enjoyed it every bit as much as the acting and the story. Like "Godfather," this is a tale of families and how the sins of the fathers cast their shadows over the generations. To illustrate the connection, Sayles will slowly track his camera from a conversation in one part of a room to another part of the same room where characters who lived 25 years earlier are conversing. The years have passed, we realize, but all the characters, even the dead ones, are in this together. The technique may sound strange, but it works magically. And another thing: I've always thought Kris Kristofferson was a better singer than actor, and a better songwriter than singer. But in this film he turns in an outstanding performance as a very very bad Texas border town sheriff who disappeared years ago and whose bones have just turned up in the desert. At least we think those are his bones, and to solve the puzzle, the current sheriff, son of the man who became sheriff when Kris disappeared, must dig further than he wants into the town's secrets. And once again, knowing how the film ends makes subsequent viewings just as fascinating as the first.

John Sayles is regarded as one of the best independent film-makers about and Lone Star is a film of a man in full throttle. Its a set of interwoven stories set in two time periods as Chris Cooper a border town sheriff who has returned to his home town where his father was a legendary Sheriff investigates a 40 year old murder that may have been committed by his own father. He also rekindles a romance with a childhood, Hispanic sweetheart that his father was very much against at the time.

The film is foremost a murder mystery but also deals with issues of police corruption, illegal immigration, justice, politics and racism. Sayles was rightly nominated for an Oscar for his screenplay.

Chris Cooper holds the film as the dogged sheriff. Kriss Kristofferson and Matthew McConaughey make effective cameos in flashback scenes. There is a strange cameo from Frances McDormand as Cooper's ex-wife who is dealing with mental health issues which probably led to their divorce.

The film is thoughtful, provocative and requires attention. Its not a slam bang or a slow burner. Many multiple stories come together as the past comes to haunt the present and relationships are made clearer.

I just bought this movie on DVD and watched it for the first time in a couple of years, and once again it amazed me. While most scripts stumble recklessly from one hackneyed plot device to another, "Lone Star" flows like a steady, winding river, never letting the viewer see too far downstream. The spine of the film is Sherrif Sam Deed's investigation into a thirty-year-old murder, yet this story is quickly absorbed by many finely scripted subplots and an overall theme on the futility of trying to escape history. While most directors can't help but show off when using flashy camera movement and jumps in continuity, Sayles employs such a subtle directing style that his leaps in time and location are seamless. Sayles fleshes out his script with subplots on racism, national pride, censorship, generation gaps, politics, social revisionism, and on and on. Most directors don't tackle this many topics in a career, yet Sayles juggles them all in one film without jamming them down the audiences' throats. If the subplots in Sayles' "City of Hope" were connected like a series of dominos, here they are gently woven together like a colorful, well-worn Southwestern quilt. The love story between Chris Cooper and Elizabeth Pena is both wistful and steamy. The film's social conscience is compelling. The father/son conflict between Otis and Delmore Payne (Ron Canada and Joe Morton) feels totally realistic. The dialoge is concise and insightful. Fate hangs over every character and every moment. Plus "Lone Star" has one of my favorite "final scenes", one that perfectly sums up the ironies of the film. It is simply one of the best movies I have ever seen.

Ive always admired Sayles as a writer and a filmmaker. His early films (Secaucus 7, Brother from Another Planet) even though they were rough and messy had wit and brilliant acting, but when he gets it right, he gets it right: Matewan and City of Hope are two examples of multi-layered stories with believable three-dimensional people in powerful situations. Lone Star is an amazing film: characters that are on screen for even a few minutes come of as real people, flesh and blood, no cardboard cut-outs here. Great performances from Chris Cooper, Kris Kristofferson, Elizabeth Pena, Joe Morton and many, many more. Taut, funny, thrilling and emotional. Great film by a great talent.