Lone Star | Stephen J. Lang, Chris Cooper | Buried Secrets...Intriguing and Captivating Film

Lone Star | Stephen J. Lang, Chris Cooper | DEEP IN THE HEART OF TEXAS

DVDs:

Lone Star

	Lone Star Stephen J. Lang, Chris Cooper Turner Home Ent, 1999 average customer review:based on 78 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Buried Secrets...Intriguing and Captivating Film

This review refers to the Widescreen DVD(Warner Bros) edition of "Lone Star"

Director John Sayles("Men With Guns","Passion Fish") has a wonderful way of telling stories. Stories of real people and real relationships and the stories beneath the stories. "Lone Star" is a film that is definitive of his superior skill in drawing us into those stories and the characters they revolve around.

This one is a multi-faceted story. It is a modern day Western, a murder mystery and a story of star-crossed love and family values. It is set in a small border town in Texas. The culture clash that exsists in town, goes back to before Texas was a state. A body murdered 40 years earlier has been uncovered in the desert and the Sheriff begins on a personal quest to unpeel the layers of corruption, predjudices and relationships that led to the death of a hard-nosed and racist lawman.

Sayles tells this tale like an exquiste dance. Complex yet subtle. His casting is superb. Chris Cooper, Kris Kristofferson, Frances McDormand, Elizabeth Peña(winning an Independent Spirit Award for her performance), Matthew McConaughey,Clifton James and Miriam Colon all turn in stellar performances as this diverse group. Also look for fine performances by Tony Plana and Gordon Tootoosis. I also loved the fabulous soundtrack that was a great mix of South of the Border, Western, with some music to set the time period during the flashback scenes.

A nice transfer to DVD. It is presented in widescreen, with very good color and a nice clear picture. The sound is in Dolby Surround Stereo. There are subtitles for those needing them and it may be viewed in French as well.

Great storytelling that will have you captivated from the opening frame to the last. Highly recommended for those looking for a film that will give you something to think about, and one that will stand up to repeated viewings.

Enjoy....Laurie

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DEEP IN THE HEART OF TEXAS

John Sayles LONE STAR is a complex mixture of mystery, betrayal and family values; it is a powerful work, rich in characterization. Although at times a little talky and preachy, the movie nonetheless is a potent vision of filmmaking. Chris Cooper is brilliant as the sheriff confronted with the discovery of a skeleton felt to be about 40 years dead. Sayles uses smoothly meshed flashback transitions to spin his tale of a corrupt sheriff (played with malicious fervor by Kris Kristofferson), and the honest deputy (Matthew McConaughey, very good in a small role) who vows to stop Kristofferson's corruption. Ethnic values are intertwined in the tale of a lovely young schoolteacher (Elizabeth Pena in a well fleshed out performance) who was once Cooper's lover. Cooper is also by the way, the son of McConaughey. Also mixed in is the story of an African-American colonel (the marvelous Joe Morton) who comes home to confront the father who deserted him (Ron Canada, also very good). Frances McDormand has a brilliant cameo as Cooper's disturbed ex-wife, Bunny.
The film takes all these subplots and brings them together for a riveting ending. A highly effective film.

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Complex and fascinating

My wife and I revisited this movie last night after many years. Many other reviewers here have captured the essence of the movie's complexity. Even though we both have seen the movie before we were up late talking about it and kept talking about it the next morning. To say it is "adult" is an insult to kids. Granted some themes are inappropriate for young children but I can see a family viewing of the film yielding some rich and rewarding discussions.

We loved the movie for the way it juxtaposed the history of Texas with personal history and that it doesn't neatly package either into black and white cliches. There are age old struggles dealing with fathers and sons, how races interact, and interesting insights on how the new societal fractures are not so much racial as economic and philosophical (some of the most hardline characters are Mexican).
And anyone living in a small town understands that under the veneer of local civility and business as usual are secrets both life-affirming and appalling.

Some here have commented on the ending and it is a shocker and can dim the movie for some. It did for me until I decided to give it some thought (This movie gives the viewer a lot of things to chew on. Unlike much of the mind candy that passes for film these days, this movie will stay with you.). I realized that the ending stood for the complexity of the town itself. Despite constant references to a certain bar being the only place that blacks felt comfortable congregating or to the Mexican view of history being different from that of Anglos, the town's residents crossed the barriers of race and class much more than the locals realized (or would even care to admit.)

This movie demands repeat viewings....doing so will give you many satisfying evenings. One of the best movies that we have ever seen.

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unheard of classic with one fault

I was very interested by this movie and had a hard time founding it. Well, I finally got it and here's my review. I had heard the name John Sayles but had never seen any of his movies. From watching this movie, I can tell that Sayles is a very talented director, and writer, but I can't say the same about editing. He directed, wrote, and edited this movie, which shows his talent. But, I'm sorry mr. Sayles, this is a fascinating movie but you should have edited a little better.
There just seemed to me that there were some scenes that weren't necessary to be in the movie. This movie is very complex and deals with many matters, unfortunately, at times it just dealed with too many at once.
The movie has superb acting notably by Chris Cooper, Kris Kristofferson, Matthew McConnaughey and Elizabeth Pena. The movie's about a skeleton found in texas. The skeleton has a sheriff badge too. It is examined and the identity of the body is revealed. Chris Cooper is a sheriff who needs help to go back back to the time his father was an officer/sheriff/etc... He needs to go back to find out what happened. The movie was fascinating as you can see. It also happened to cram in conflicts such as racism. The movie uses the past of the characters to reveal truly shocking and amazing moments. While the movie is so remarquable and fascinating, the editing does come into play at times. Sayles leaves in some unnecessary stuff, especially towards the end that delays the discovery made by the sheriff (Chris Cooper). Now, that just frustrated me. I wanted to know what happened but he delayed and went onto some other topic for 15 minutes.
But, every movie has faults, and since this movie is unheard of (66 reviews???) and unavailable like everywhere, well, I recommend all of you to get your mints on it and add it to your serious collection. (if it is) So, good job Mr. Sayles, and I appreciate all of the effort you put into this movie. People like that and not talentless people like Quentin Tarantino, are the ones that should be praised. Congratulations Mr. Sayles, what a remarquable movie you made!

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