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Summary: Films Like This; There Are But A Few...
Review: LONE STAR is a multi-layered drama, that unlike many other films of today, is rich with characters that seem real Like the other films of director John Sayles, this movie doesn't dumb down its audience, and once it's all over, you come away feeling very satisfied The story has many plotlines running at the same time. At its center, the movie is about the sheriff of Rio County, Sam Deeds (Chris Cooper) trying to solve the 30 year old mystery of his father, Buddy's (Matthew McConaughey) death. There's also the relationship between Sam and his lover Pilar Cruz (Elizabeth Pena) that is anything but secondary in the film Kris Kristopherson, Joe Morton, and Frances McDormand round out this excellent cast. As the tale unmfolds, you will find yourself thinking that it will end up one way, when in fact, it travels somewhere different at every turn The screenplay, also from Sayles, so much deserved its Oscar nomination (it should have won). Anyone who hasn't seen the movie yet, get set for a true modern classic, that deserves your attention. Sadly, there are no extras on the DVD, save for the theatrical trailer. Even though a "special edition" of LONE STAR is nothing but a distant wish, I Highly Recommend the film as a must see/have, for anyone's film collection. ***** stars
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Summary: A masterful film
Review: First I would like to thank John Sayles for his unique style. A somewhat sleepy Southwest Texas border town provides the backdrop for this most unusual film. There is nothing uncommon about the demographic mix here: Anglo, Hispanic, Mexican, Black, yet Sayles hand creates an unforgettable experience through the use of warts-and-all character development and beautiful insight. I realize some may have issues with the regional nature of this film but make no mistake, having lived most of my life in the Southwest, I can name actual persons that closely match each character in this film. Chris Cooper plays the part of Sam Deeds to perfection. Recently divorced, Chris returns to Rio County as its new Sheriff, following in his legendary fathers' footsteps. As Chris states in the film, 'I spent the first 15 years of my life trying to be just like my old man, and the next 15 trying to kill him'. For those who do not have larger-than-life fathers, Cooper's portrail is a direct hit. For those who do, I need not say anything. Although the plot revolves around the discovery of the remains of long-dead Sheriff Charlie Wade, this film is about conviction and human frailty, not solving a murder. An example of the wisdom of Sayles is when Otis Payne, bar owner, explains to his black-and-white thinking Colonel son Chet Payne, poignantly played by Eddie Robinson that most blacks in Rio County patronize both his bar and the church. And Sayles holds true to these words. With the exception of Charlie Wade's character, each shares strengths and weaknesses, frailty and prejudice, practicality and remorse. Sam Deeds and Elizabeth Pena as Pilar Cruz fit together wonderfully as high-school sweethearts who are reunited after Sam's divorce. Convictions play heavily into both characters: Sam's ambivalent feelings toward his fathers' graft and political gain, Pilar's fight against a canned school curriculum. Sayles wisely points out that people of conviction are not perfect but are special. And when two special meet and fall in love, it is for a lifetime. Circumstances are not on their side, which makes their love affair that much more poignant. The few moments they are able to share are full of deep emotion and affection, just as they should be.
Rating: 
Summary: Great... but more than a little weird
Review: The movie itself (up until the ending) was fantastic. It was hard to follow at first but after a while it became easier to understand. Each character was brilliantly complex and the chosen cast played them perfectly. The end was severely disappointing (I almost cried because I was so angry at it) and I would not recommed this movie if you like decent endings. I think the incest was a bit over the top and, in my opinion, made it too dramatic and unrealistic.
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Summary: Simply the best indie film in years...
Review: I saw this movie when it was first released, and then again this week-end on TNT. It's one of the best films I've seen and I plan to purchase it for my library. It doesn't have a lot of action and the plots develop slowly, but, like In the Heat of the Night, there is not one throw-away scene. I've never seen Kristofferson so evil...his work was real enough to be very, very scary. I liked Chris Cooper and Frances McDormand is a riot in her all-too-brief scene as Cooper's strung-out ex-wife. I live in a small town in east Texas and I know people like the Sheriff, Big O, Buddy and the others. The plot twist at the end might be a bit off-putting for some, but, to me, it just added to the quality of the writing, directing, acting and drama. This is a movie to be savored. Do not expect action, car crashes or surrealistice special effects. It's a film about real people facing real issues and doing their best to right some very bad wrongs. Enjoy!
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Summary: John Sayles at His Best
Review: This is one of those films where words of praise seem to be almost always inadequate. I think LONE STAR may turn out to be a classic. It is certainly one of the best films Sayles has yet given us. The story is richly textured and wonderfully complex in it's characters, it's social themes and it's who-done-it mystery. This film covers a potpourri of subjects: racial strife, national identity, interfamily relationships, political corruption and political correctness, among others. That Sayles is able to contain all these tumultuous matters in one film and make them work naturally within the structure of that film is nothing short of miraculuous. The performances are uniformly excellent, with Chris Cooper and Elizabeth Pena standouts as former high school sweethearts who were torn apart by their parents. The reason for their separation is not what it at first seems to be and it is one of the "kickers" of this movie. Francis McDormand is featured as Cooper's bipolar ex-wife in a wonderful cameo. McConaughey is fine in flashbacks as Cooper's legendary lawman father. Kristofferson is all snake venom as a corrupt and murderous sheriff. Joe Morton is properly reserved as the commander of a local military installation, a man who has worked his way up in a formally structured institution, coming to terms with his estranged father, a former numbers runner and gambler who is now the owner of the only local bar that caters to the Afican American community. This film is gorgeously shot in Super 35 by Stuart Dryburgh, who has captured the modern American Southwest in a way that few other cinematographers have. You can almost feel the sun on the back of your neck. The DVD is light on extras but that is compensated for by the Amazon price. Grab this and settle back for an evening of challenging, adult entertainment.
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Summary: Sayles' Elegant Atistry Makes "Lone Star" Shine
Review: John Sayles is first and foremost, a writter and his screenplays are why his films are so compelling. Prior to his career as a director, actor, producer and screenwritter, John Sayles was a novelist and I became aqauinted with Sayles in 1977 when I read "Union Dues". Even then, Sayles possessed an uncanny ear for writting simple and elegant dialogue. Like Anton Chekhov, Sayles proves that a good writter is also a good listener. Sayle's dialogue has the ring of an everyday conversation, and is refreshingly free of the pretensions and historonics that many screenwritters fall prey to. Folks in Texas don't sit around diners chatting about the existential nature of reality. In "Lone Star" we are treated to John Sayle's best writting and an ensemble of accomplished actors who appear to delighted to be working on a rare project of artistic substance. Chris Cooper's potrayal Sheriff Sam Deeds is compelling evidence of what a masterful actor can accomplish with a well written screenplay . A lesser screenwritter would have resorted to dialogue that fit Sam Deeds into the mold of a stereotypical screen cop. In Hollywood, the Sheriff Deeds role gets written as either a facist, a buffon, a flawed anti-hero, or the Sgt. Friday perfect role model. Chris Cooper's tender and heartbreaking conversations with Elizabeth Pena's character should be studied by students of film, as a rare moment when accomplished acting is supported by a well written screen play. Chris Cooper's triumph is that he authenticates his character by playing against the prevailing "wisdom" of who cops are. Over the years, Cooper has revelled in the challenge of playing roles which shatter stereotypes, like the closeted gay Ex-Marine father in "American Beauty", or the seriously demented but often charming orchid pirate, John LaRoche in "Adaption". I pray that Chris Cooper's new found success doesn't lead him away from his frequent collaborations with Sayles. Sayle's dialogue and Cooper's acting fit like a glove. Chris Cooper is an actor of astounding range and should be included among the great screen actors of this era. The supporting cast of Kris Kristofferson, Francis McDormand and several Latino actors in secondary roles is impressive. Two actors merit special mention for their performances: Joe Morton is a long-time member of Sayles periodical ensemble of actors. His small role as Col. Delmore Payne is a painful reminder of how his prodigious talents are woefully under utilized. Morton a Tony Award winning stage actor appears to have been relegated to a character actor in supporting roles, since his astounding performance in another Sayle's movie "Brother From Another Planet". One hopes that a shrewd casting agent will realize Morton's untapped potential as an actor. The other performance of note is Matthew McConaughey's portrayal Buddy Dees. McConaughey was once the toast of Hollywood; but currently appears to be deadlocked by his own indecision on whether he wants to be a movie star or an actor. McConaughey has made some bad career decisions and in "Lone Star" we learn that he is capable of great things, if he doesn't let his pretty face get in the way. The byazantine plot line is complex and the fine details of it's twin story lines may be alternatively fascinating and frustrating, to the viewer. One line involves a cast of characters in present-day and the other involves a separate cast that involves events 30 years prior to the present. For an attentive viewer, the rewards are great as Sayles skillfully merges, weaves, blends and resolves the dual story lines by the final credits. Along the way the viewer is treated to more murder, treachery, corruption, greed and incest than a Greek tradgedy. It's safe to say that John Sayles will remain an outsider and renegade in the eyes of Hollywood. Sayles emerged from the counter-culture and stays at the margins, by choice. Hollywood doesn't like left leaning directors like Sayles or Oliver Stone. The fact that Sayles doesn't even make dogmatic films doesn't seem to matter, Sayles is "one of them" and it's unlikey that things will change. Oliver Stone for all of his huffing and puffing about the Establishment, still won an Oscar or two. Sayles is the better filmaker because he doesn't hammer the viewer with, overblown rhetoric, cartoonish characters and self-indulgent auteurism to make a politcal point. "Lone Star" managed tweak the establishment by being a favorite of critics who took the Academy to task for ignoring "Lone Star." Sayle's amazing legacy will be recoginzed with the passage of time. Perhaps when John Sayles is 85 years old and in an extended care nursing home, the Academy will finally wheel him out bestow a Lifetime Acheivement Award and soothe their guilt for never recognizing his artistry. I think Sayles would be more flattered by a National Book Award, if and when, he decides to write the Great American Novel.
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Summary: A Texas Greek tragedy...sort of.
Review: Not only does this film unfold with the richness and complexity of a very well written short story (think William Trevor in a border town), no one here seems to have mentioned that it also contains echoes of Greek tragedy (or even the biblical sins of the fathers being visited upon the children). It is so subtle and its many little subplots reflect back on each other in such surprising ways -- okay, I'll admit it: I never thought Sayles was capable of such greatness. This screenplay ranks up there with Chinatown and Sunset Boulevard. It's that great. Oh -- and once again, it is a little film graced with a terrific, throwaway cameo from the always-wonderful Frances McDormand. But it needs to be said: Chris Cooper is the calm, sure anchor of this film, playing a man who has had wisdom and insight thrust upon him perforce by things over which he had no control. A masterful performance from a great, heretofore underrated (but now Oscar-winning) actor.
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Summary: Lone Star Review
Review: The movie Lone Star was released in 1996 and tells the story of cultural conflicts experienced by a few different social groups in Rio County, Texas from 1957 to present day. The story involves Mexican, Anglo, African-American and Indian cultures and the problems these groups have while living near the Mexican Border. In a culture where 19 out of 20 residents are Mexican, the Anglos are in the minority but still rule the powerful positions in the community namely politics, law enforcement, and business. The African-American population is smaller than the Anglo population and this group faces discrimination and prejudice from the Mexicans and Anglos both. The movie focuses on three stories with characters from each ethnic group and the issues that they are confronted with both within their cultures and also as their culture relates to the other cultures. The characters experience prejudice and acceptance, love (sometimes forbidden) and hate, democracy and dictatorship, tragedy and triumph, and success and failure. The relationships touch on family dynamics, romance, social and political aspects of the individuals in this film. In addition to the movie's entertainment value, the hidden educational content was a pleasant addition. I found it difficult to stay emotionally detached from the characters in this film and I was surprised to learn how their lives intertwined.
I think this movie was extremely well done and I think it has something to offer just about everyone. Although I was disappointed in the way the movie ended, I truly enjoyed Lone Star and I would give it a four out of five star rating. This is an excellent movie that I would recommend to anyone.
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Summary: Great film, not a great DVD
Review: Anything I might say about the film will be redundant, considering the length and abundance of reviews already written here. The only reason I didn't give it a "5 star" review is that the DVD is lacking in extras that anyone who loves this film would want. I can't say about enough about John Sayles or the cast, especially the horribly underappreciated Chris Cooper in the lead role. I only wish that the DVD included commentary from both director and cast. Still, it's worth owning, and worth watching many times.
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Summary: Reminiscent of, and better than, Robert Altman
Review: Like Altman, John Sayles is able to maintain several interlocking story lines at the same time, which adds a richness to his films that you won't find in the run-of-the-mill schlock coming out of Hollywood. Unlike Altman, however, he utilizes flashbacks exceptionally effectively, and adds a moral dimension to his films that you don't find elsewhere. With Sayles, there are no easy answers to complex moral questions, which is one reason his films are so rich. In that regard, "Lone Star" is his best (and for me, most enjoyable) film.
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