On L List of Movie Reviews
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Lone Star (1996)
Rate:
8
Viewed:
6/17
6/17:
I'm a huge fan of John Sayles' work, especially Return of the Secaucus 7 which is one of the all-time great pictures.
Seeing who the director was for Lone Star, I was immediately in. Maybe Matthew McConaughey played some
role in my decision, but the fact that he only had less than five minutes of screen time doesn't bother me the slightest bit.
Chris Cooper is a phenomenal actor, and I'm pleased to see him in a starring role. Elizabeth Peña is
wonderful. She sadly died three years ago from liver cirrhosis at the age of 55 due to alcohol abuse. Kris
Kristofferson is a baddie which is a nice change. Frances McDormand is truly out there. I can't imagine putting up with her
character.
As usual, the film's strength is the story which is original, earning John Sayles a much-deserved Oscar nomination.
Sadly, Fargo's screenplay took home the award when it should've gone the other way.
However long the running length is, the movie is absorbing, and I was surprised by the ending in
terms of what really happened. The acting is flawless. Relying on it, John Sayles takes his time to unpeel the layers
to get to the core of the mystery which is surprisingly human and real. He also does a good job of paying attention to
the debate of revisionist and actual history of Texas. Another keen aspect is the integration of whites, blacks, and
Mexicans because that's the reality of living in Texas and the state has a long history of racism.
The Border is what I call a chaotic, Kafka-esque picture, but Lone Star is the opposite, being
more of a later period picture when things have settled down with the residents setting themselves up for a life in the long run.
Thinking the movie was somewhere around McAllen or Brownsville, it was actually shot on location in Del Rio, Eagle Pass, and Laredo.
All in all, reminding me of The Last Picture Show, Lone Star gets a great deal correct of what it's
like to live in a Texas border town.