Rent Lone Star (1996)

Great American Mystery Drama - Lone Star review by GI

Lone Star is a gem of a film; a crime mystery drama set in modern day Texas close to the Mexican border. A skeleton is found buried in the desert and Sheriff Sam Deeds (Chris Cooper) begins an investigation and soon comes to believe that it's the remains of former Sheriff Charlie Wade (Kris Kristofferson) who disappeared forty years ago. As he begins to delve into the circumstances of Wade's disappearance he begins to uncover dark secrets that will get to the heart of his relationship with his father and his lover. The narrative plays out over two timelines and the director, John Sayles, brilliantly uses in-shot edits to move between the present day and the events of forty years earlier. It's a marvellous ploy and gives the film a poetry and tempo which makes it really engrossing. The narrative delves deep into issues of racial tensions that span, unchecked, across the decades and highlights disputes over the interpretation of history. The very plot is a treatise on how events can be manipulated and controlled. But mixed in here are really bold family dramas that intertwine with the mystery story. A superb support cast including Clifton James, Matthew McConaughey and Frances McDormand sets this film apart. It's a mini-masterpiece and definitely one to seek out.