Lone Star

Rating

Director

John Sayles

Screenplay

John Sayles

Length

2h 15m

Starring

Stephen Mendillo, Chris Cooper, Elizabeth Pena, Stephen J. Lang, Eleese Lester, Joe Stevens, Gonzalo Castillo, Richard Coca, Clifton James, Tony Frank, Miriam Colon, Kris Kristofferson, Jeff Monahan, Matthew McConaughey, Joe Morton, LaTanya Richardson, Eddie Robinson, Ron Canada, Chandra Wilson, Damon Guy, Dee Macaluso

MPAA Rating

R

Review

Exploring the interconnection between truth and legacy, Lone Star is a neo-western exploration between the lawmen in myth and in practice as a young sheriff comes to learn the truth about his larger-than-life father.

In spite of an impressive career starting in 1979, writer-director John Sayles wasn’t recognized by the Academy until the 1990s as writer and director of two films, Passion Fish starring Angela Bassett and Mary McDonnell, and this film, starring Chris Cooper as the son of a famed lawman (played in flashback by Matthew McConaughey) who can’t overcome his father’s legacy or the disappearance of the man his father replaced, a corrupt sheriff played by Kris Kristofferson.

Sayles’ winding script sets up an ideological battle between the murderous and loathsome sheriff Charlie Wade (Kristofferson) and the gentler, more accommodating, but still corrupt Buddy Deeds (McConaughey). The screenplay also looks into the lives of those who’ve grown up in the shadows of the town’s great men, including Cooper’s honest cop Sam Deeds and Otis (Ron Canada), the son of a noted black restauranteur, who must contend with his regimented son Del (Joe Morton) who has placed a heavy burden on his own son Chet (Eddie Robinson).

This multi-faceted murder mystery drama places an emphasis on character, situation, and history, exploring race relations, corruption, and historical relevance in the face of new threats to stability and safety. While the no-nonsense past is replaced by a more subtle corruption, little has changed in the small town on the Texas-Mexico border. The fascinating characters are propped up by a brilliant and unsurprising mystery and some subtle directorial flare that works so incredibly well you wonder why Sayles wasn’t a bigger name than he is today.

As an ensemble drama, Lone Star features solid performances from actors who’ve spent plenty of time in smaller efforts, enabling them to fit right in with the small town, independent feel of the film. It’s a testament to Sayles’ capabilities as a writer and a director that he could draw out a surprisingly effective performance from Matthew McConaughey, whose own larger-than-life persona often threatens to overwhelm any film in which he’s featured.

Lone Star was a fine example of the mid-90s style of indie cinema, heavy on the small ensemble casts and dramatic interpretations of material. Not far removed from the work of Peter Bogdanovich and Robert Altman, Sayles marked himself as one of the finest small scale auteurs working in that period.

Review Written

August 2, 2021