Cheap Lone Star (DVD) (Chris Cooper, Elizabeth Peña) (John Sayles) Price

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Customer Reviews of Lone Star

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.

John Sayles at His Best
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.

Stereotypes
There's something so "Plastic, Benjamin" about a scripted debate on race relations. Somebody tell John Sayles that drama comes first. His political inclinations are so important they blot out the sun. Remember, "To Tell a Mockingbird?" It never felt preachy. Why? Because Greg Peck had a meaty role and his position was clear. "This will not stand," a Lincolnesque moment. Chris Cooper is one sad sheriff trying to live up to his legendary dad. The town is a boiling pot of Anglo, Mexican and Afro-American potations. They shout at each other, they cuss, sort-of, but then they all sit around and express their feelings. Subtle, this ain't. That's why the movie feels like it's taking three hours to tell a ten-minute story. Who killed the bad sheriff? Kris Kristofoson is one of those redneck bad guy-racists that come out of Hollywood without motivation. This script won an academy award back in 96. There are incestuous stories, stereotypes, town histories intertwined, but I still can't figure if the sheriff and the schoolteacher can overcome that last revelation.