Lone Star (1996 film)

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See Lone Star for the 1952 film starring Clark Gable and Ava Garner.
Lone Star

Theatrical poster
Directed by John Sayles
Produced by R. Paul Miller
Maggie Renzi
Written by John Sayles
Starring Chris Cooper
Elizabeth Peña
Kris Kristofferson
Matthew McConaughey
Music by Mason Daring
Cinematography Stuart Dryburgh
Editing by John Sayles
Distributed by Columbia TriStar
Release date(s) June 21, 1996
Running time 135 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Budget $5,000,000 US
estimated.
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

Lone Star (1996) is an American mystery film written and directed by John Sayles and set in a small town in Texas. It features Chris Cooper, Elizabeth Peña, Kris Kristofferson and Matthew McConaughey and deals with a sheriff's investigation into who murdered one of his predecessors.[1]

Contents

[edit] Plot

In this ensemble piece, director Sayles tells the story of several residents of a small Texas border town.

At the forefront of film is the investigation of the death of Charlie Wade (Kris Kristofferson), the sheriff who disappeared decades earlier and whose skeleton is found on a former Army shooting range.

Sam Deeds (Chris Cooper), the current sheriff, takes it upon himself to uncover the truth about Wade's death. Despite warnings from other residents, Deeds presses on, convinced that his father, the much-loved Buddy Deeds (Matthew McConaughey), was somehow involved. In the process, he reconnects with a former love, Pilar Cruz (Elizabeth Peña).

Interwoven within this are several ancillary stories, each of which shed light on the relationships between different residents of the town.

Delmore Payne (Joe Morton), the new commander of the local army base, must come to terms with a father who abandoned him and a son who does not wish to follow in his footsteps.
Mercedes Cruz (Miriam Colon), a prominent member of the Hispanic community, is forced to deal with a past that she thought was long forgotten.

Although the film is ostensibly a murder mystery, these stories help to reveal the complexities of race relations within the town.

[edit] Cast

[edit] Critical reception

Janet Maslin, the film critic for The New York Times, liked the film's screenplay, the acting and directing. She wrote, "This long, spare, contemplatively paced film, scored with a wide range of musical styles and given a sun-baked clarity by Stuart Dryburgh's cinematography, is loaded with brief, meaningful encounters...And it features a great deal of fine, thoughtful acting, which can always be counted on in a film by Mr. Sayles. Though none of the actors are given much screen time, a remarkable number of them create fully formed characters in only a few scenes. Mr. Kristofferson does a superb, unflinching job as the film's personification of racist evil; Mr. Canada and Clifton James (as the mayor) capture the tensions between Frontera's black and white characters as well as a certain brotherhood under the skin. Mr. Morton and Ms. Colon both illustrate the high price of repressing one's true nature, though nobody here has the two-dimensional nature of a symbolic figure. All the film's characters are flesh and blood."[2]

Film critics Dennis West and Joan M. West discuss the psychological aspects of the film, and write, "Lone Star strikingly depicts the personal psychological boundaries that confront many citizens of Frontera as a result of living in such close proximity to the border. 'The Other Side,' an oft-repeated phrase in Frontera parlance, has assumed metaphorical dimensions, variable according to the group using it. To the 'WASPish' Anglo population, 'The Other Side' suggests an experience that is foreign, different, perhaps threatening or even dangerous. To many Mexican-Americans it represents a past history. Mercedes Cruz (Miriam Colon), for example, is all too eager (until her last scene) to conceal, ignore, and deny at all costs anything connecting her to her country of birth. She has even restyled herself as "Spanish" - presumably a more socially acceptable designation the community allows her because of her work ethic and business success. A first-generation immigrant, Mercedes remains prickly and evasive on the matter of her origins and shows no sympathy for her third-generation grandson, who would like to trace his roots on the other side."[3]

[edit] Awards

Wins

  • Lone Star Film & Television Awards: Best Actor, Chris Cooper; Best Director, John Sayles; Best Film; Best Screenplay, John Sayles; Best Supporting Actor, Ron Canada; Best Supporting Actress, Frances McDormand; 1996.
  • Independent Spirit Awards: Independent Spirit Award; Best Supporting Female, Elizabeth Peña ; 1997.
  • Bravo Awards: NCLR Bravo Award Outstanding Actress in a Feature Film, Elizabeth Peña; Special Achievement Award Outstanding Feature Film; 1997.
  • Satellite Awards: Golden Satellite Award; Best Motion Picture Screenplay - Original, John Sayles; 1997.
  • Southeastern Film Critics Association Awards: SEFCA Award; Best Director, John Sayles; 1997.

Nominations

[edit] References

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Lone Star at the Internet Movie Database.
  2. ^ Maslin, Janet. The New York Times, film review, "Sleepy Texas Town With an Epic Story," June 21, 1996. Last accessed: February 22, 2008.
  3. ^ West, Dennis and Joan M. West. Cineaste (magazine) v22, n3 (Summer, 1996):34 (3 pages). Last accessed: February 22, 2008.

[edit] External links


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