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.
To be honest, my life has so closely paralleled Chris Cooper that this film is extremely difficult for me to watch. But that does not diminish its beauty and insight. For those not from the Southwest, I'd recommend watching at least twice to become familiarized with the cultures. And for those preoccupied with happy endings, you may wish to skip this film entirely.
If the screenplay of LONE STAR is complex and superb, one also appreciates the performances of Chris Cooper as a wry and disenchanted sherif and Frances McDormand as Cooper's neurotic ex-wife. Their performances alone should justify your investment.
A trailer and subtitles as bonus features. Meager. Sound and images OK.
A DVD zone your library.
This film demonstrates its superior quality in every important filmic element: acting, direction, cinematography, dialogue, and plot. The actors are honest and real, and have an excellent grasp on how to deal tastefully with mystery and taboo. The direction is smooth and seamless (check out the scene where the camera pans from the contemporary scene in a Mexican border town to a historical scene invloving Eladio Cruz on the other side of the border). The cinematography is beautiful (I always thought that it was done by Haskell Wexler - the greatest ever - but recently learned that it was Stuart Dryburgh.. Wexler has filmed other Sayles films, including Matewan and Limbo), offering a version of border-country Texas that both illustrates and conflicts with the insiduous, corrupt reality. The dialogue is simple and elusive, and tends to talk "around the point," leaving the true meaning to be dealt with by other cinematic means. The plot is complicated yet not difficult to follow, and reveals information only as it is needed, creating an aura of suspense and mystery not known in the cinematic world since Coppola of the 70's. Like the Godfather films, Lone Star is ultimately a movie about familial relationships.
As far as love stories go, the one included in this film is one of the most painful and beautiful I have ever seen.This movie is flawless.
"Lone Star" is terrific as both a mystery and as a snapshot of small town America, Texas-Mexican border style. However, it is something else going on here. As Sam moves between the Hispanic, White, and Black communities in Rio County, we see how members of each group feel that their ethic group is different and separate from the others. However, in the end, the movie shows us how we are all pretty much the same and the degree that our lives are intertwined. (Look for a scene in an African-American bar where a record is playing on a jukebox. Later, virtually the same record, this time sung in Spanish, is played on the jukebox in a Mexican restaurant.) At the end of the film there is a final surprise that pretty much left me stunned while driving home the point of just how closely related to each other we all are.
