Lone Star (1996 film)
Encyclopedia
Lone Star 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.
In the film's opening scene, two off-duty soldiers exploring the desert shooting range near their Army base find a partially buried human skull. When one jokes that it may have something to do with the party of the Spanish explorer Coronado who came through the area centuries ago, the other points out a Masonic ring lying next to the skull and asks if Coronado was in the Masons.
Sam Deeds, (Chris Cooper
) the Sheriff of Rio County, is called to the scene and arranges for a forensic examination. It soon appears that the remains are those of Charlie Wade (Kris Kristofferson
), who had been Sheriff forty years earlier. Wade, a notoriously corrupt and violent man, had disappeared after a public confrontation with Buddy Deeds (Matthew McConaughey
), Sam's late father and one of Wade's deputies. Buddy Deeds succeeded Wade in office and was a popular and respected civic leader until his death 30 years later. It was on the strength of Buddy's reputation that Sam later became Sheriff, although it is clear that Sam's relationship with his father was a tense one. The county's new courthouse is about to be dedicated to Buddy Deeds in a public ceremony. Now it falls to Sam to investigate the killing of Wade, in which Buddy may have been involved.
Some of the older residents of Rio County, who knew both Wade and Buddy Deeds, warn Sam that investigating Wade's death may uncover things that are best left hidden. Despite these warnings Sam presses on. In the process, he reconnects with a former high school sweetheart, Pilar Cruz (Elizabeth Peña
), now a widow and schoolteacher with two teenage children. Buddy had forbidden Sam to see Pilar when they were teenagers; Sam had assumed that racial prejudice was the reason for Buddy's attitude, although Buddy had always enjoyed cordial relations with the county's Hispanic population.
Sam is convinced that Buddy killed Charlie Wade, but after a discussion with Otis and Hollis, it is revealed that Hollis shot Charlie to prevent him from murdering Otis. Buddy's reasons for his seeming dislike of Pilar are also revealed when Sam realizes that Buddy and Pilar's mother, Mercedes, had an affair that resulted in Pilar. In the end, Sam and Pilar decide to continue their relationship in spite of knowing they are half-siblings.
Interwoven within this are several ancillary stories, each of which shed light on the relationships between different residents of the town.
Although the film is ostensibly a murder mystery, these stories help to reveal the complexities of ethnic relations within the town.
, 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."
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 (Míriam Colón), 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."
Nominations
Mystery film
Mystery film is a sub-genre of the more general category of crime film and at times the thriller genre. It focuses on the efforts of the detective, private investigator or amateur sleuth to solve the mysterious circumstances of a crime by means of clues, investigation, and clever deduction.The...
written and directed by John Sayles
John Sayles
John Thomas Sayles is an American independent film director, screenwriter and author.-Early life:Sayles was born in Schenectady, New York, the son of Mary , a teacher, and Donald John Sayles, a school administrator. He was raised Catholic and took to labeling himself "a Catholic atheist"...
and set in a small town in Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. It features Chris Cooper
Chris Cooper (actor)
Christopher W. "Chris" Cooper is an American film actor. He became well known in the late 1990s. He has appeared in supporting performances in several major Hollywood films, including The Bourne Identity, American Beauty, Capote, The Town, The Kingdom, Syriana, October Sky, Seabiscuit, and...
, Elizabeth Peña
Elizabeth Peña
Elizabeth Peña is an American actress and the daughter of a theater-company co-founder, who has also compiled experience as a television director in her own right.-Early life:...
, Kris Kristofferson
Kris Kristofferson
Kristoffer "Kris" Kristofferson is an American musician, actor, and writer. He is known for hits such as "Me and Bobby McGee", "For the Good Times", "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down", and "Help Me Make It Through the Night"...
and Matthew McConaughey
Matthew McConaughey
Matthew David McConaughey is an American actor.After a series of minor roles in the early 1990s, McConaughey gained notice for his breakout role in Dazed and Confused . He then appeared in films such as A Time to Kill, Contact, U-571, Tiptoes, Sahara, and We Are Marshall...
and deals with a sheriff's investigation into who murdered one of his predecessors.
Plot
In this ensemble piece, director Sayles tells the story of several residents set in the fictional small border town of Frontera, Texas.In the film's opening scene, two off-duty soldiers exploring the desert shooting range near their Army base find a partially buried human skull. When one jokes that it may have something to do with the party of the Spanish explorer Coronado who came through the area centuries ago, the other points out a Masonic ring lying next to the skull and asks if Coronado was in the Masons.
Sam Deeds, (Chris Cooper
Chris Cooper (actor)
Christopher W. "Chris" Cooper is an American film actor. He became well known in the late 1990s. He has appeared in supporting performances in several major Hollywood films, including The Bourne Identity, American Beauty, Capote, The Town, The Kingdom, Syriana, October Sky, Seabiscuit, and...
) the Sheriff of Rio County, is called to the scene and arranges for a forensic examination. It soon appears that the remains are those of Charlie Wade (Kris Kristofferson
Kris Kristofferson
Kristoffer "Kris" Kristofferson is an American musician, actor, and writer. He is known for hits such as "Me and Bobby McGee", "For the Good Times", "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down", and "Help Me Make It Through the Night"...
), who had been Sheriff forty years earlier. Wade, a notoriously corrupt and violent man, had disappeared after a public confrontation with Buddy Deeds (Matthew McConaughey
Matthew McConaughey
Matthew David McConaughey is an American actor.After a series of minor roles in the early 1990s, McConaughey gained notice for his breakout role in Dazed and Confused . He then appeared in films such as A Time to Kill, Contact, U-571, Tiptoes, Sahara, and We Are Marshall...
), Sam's late father and one of Wade's deputies. Buddy Deeds succeeded Wade in office and was a popular and respected civic leader until his death 30 years later. It was on the strength of Buddy's reputation that Sam later became Sheriff, although it is clear that Sam's relationship with his father was a tense one. The county's new courthouse is about to be dedicated to Buddy Deeds in a public ceremony. Now it falls to Sam to investigate the killing of Wade, in which Buddy may have been involved.
Some of the older residents of Rio County, who knew both Wade and Buddy Deeds, warn Sam that investigating Wade's death may uncover things that are best left hidden. Despite these warnings Sam presses on. In the process, he reconnects with a former high school sweetheart, Pilar Cruz (Elizabeth Peña
Elizabeth Peña
Elizabeth Peña is an American actress and the daughter of a theater-company co-founder, who has also compiled experience as a television director in her own right.-Early life:...
), now a widow and schoolteacher with two teenage children. Buddy had forbidden Sam to see Pilar when they were teenagers; Sam had assumed that racial prejudice was the reason for Buddy's attitude, although Buddy had always enjoyed cordial relations with the county's Hispanic population.
Sam is convinced that Buddy killed Charlie Wade, but after a discussion with Otis and Hollis, it is revealed that Hollis shot Charlie to prevent him from murdering Otis. Buddy's reasons for his seeming dislike of Pilar are also revealed when Sam realizes that Buddy and Pilar's mother, Mercedes, had an affair that resulted in Pilar. In the end, Sam and Pilar decide to continue their relationship in spite of knowing they are half-siblings.
Interwoven within this are several ancillary stories, each of which shed light on the relationships between different residents of the town.
- Delmore Payne (Joe MortonJoe MortonJoseph Thomas "Joe" Morton, Jr. is an American stage, television, and film actor.-Early life:Morton was born in The Bronx, a borough of New York City, New York. He is the son of Evelyn, a secretary, and Joseph Thomas Morton, Sr., a U.S. army intelligence officer. Because of his father's...
), the new commander of the local army base, must come to terms with a father (Otis) (Ron CanadaRon CanadaRon Canada is an American actor. He began as a television newscaster during the 1970s in the Baltimore-Washington area mainly on WBAL-TV Channel 11 in Baltimore, until the early 1980s when he became an actor. He was a tour guide at NBC studios at 30 Rockefeller Plaza...
) who abandoned him and a son who does not wish to follow in his footsteps.
- Mercedes Cruz (Míriam Colón), a prominent member of the HispanicHispanicHispanic is a term that originally denoted a relationship to Hispania, which is to say the Iberian Peninsula: Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal and Spain. During the Modern Era, Hispanic sometimes takes on a more limited meaning, particularly in the United States, where the term means a person of ...
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 ethnic relations within the town.
Cast
- Matthew McConaugheyMatthew McConaugheyMatthew David McConaughey is an American actor.After a series of minor roles in the early 1990s, McConaughey gained notice for his breakout role in Dazed and Confused . He then appeared in films such as A Time to Kill, Contact, U-571, Tiptoes, Sahara, and We Are Marshall...
as Buddy Deeds - Kris KristoffersonKris KristoffersonKristoffer "Kris" Kristofferson is an American musician, actor, and writer. He is known for hits such as "Me and Bobby McGee", "For the Good Times", "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down", and "Help Me Make It Through the Night"...
as Sheriff Charlie Wade - Elizabeth PeñaElizabeth PeñaElizabeth Peña is an American actress and the daughter of a theater-company co-founder, who has also compiled experience as a television director in her own right.-Early life:...
as Pilar Cruz - Stephen Mendillo as Sgt. Cliff
- Chris CooperChris Cooper (actor)Christopher W. "Chris" Cooper is an American film actor. He became well known in the late 1990s. He has appeared in supporting performances in several major Hollywood films, including The Bourne Identity, American Beauty, Capote, The Town, The Kingdom, Syriana, October Sky, Seabiscuit, and...
as Sheriff Sam Deeds - Joe MortonJoe MortonJoseph Thomas "Joe" Morton, Jr. is an American stage, television, and film actor.-Early life:Morton was born in The Bronx, a borough of New York City, New York. He is the son of Evelyn, a secretary, and Joseph Thomas Morton, Sr., a U.S. army intelligence officer. Because of his father's...
as Colonel Delmore Payne - Ron CanadaRon CanadaRon Canada is an American actor. He began as a television newscaster during the 1970s in the Baltimore-Washington area mainly on WBAL-TV Channel 11 in Baltimore, until the early 1980s when he became an actor. He was a tour guide at NBC studios at 30 Rockefeller Plaza...
as Otis Payne - Jesse BorregoJesse BorregoJesse Borrego is an American actor. Better knownfor playing Cruz Candelaria in Blood in, Blood out and later guest starring as George King in Dexter. Borrego, a Mexican American, was born in San Antonio, Texas. He considered going into the US Air Force to become a pilot...
as Danny - Tony PlanaTony PlanaTony Plana is a Cuban-American actor and director. He is well known for playing Betty Suarez's father, Ignacio Suarez, on the ABC show Ugly Betty.-Personal life:...
as Ray - Frances McDormandFrances McDormandFrances Louise McDormand is an American film and stage actress. She has starred in a number of films, including her Academy Award-winning performance as Marge Gunderson in Fargo, in 1996...
as Bunny - Oni Faida Lampley as Celie
- Eleese Lester as Molly
- Clifton JamesClifton JamesGeorge Clifton James is an American actor. He is probably best known for his role as the bumbling Sheriff J.W. Pepper alongside Roger Moore in the James Bond films Live and Let Die and The Man With The Golden Gun and his role alongside Sean Connery in The Untouchables .-Personal life:James was...
as Mayor Hollis Pogue - Tony FrankTony FrankTony Frank was an American television actor. He acted in such films and series as Extreme Prejudice, Born on the Fourth of July, North and South, Riverbend and A Climate for Killing....
as Fenton - Míriam Colón as Mercedes Cruz
Critical reception
The film received highly positive reviews with the review tallying website rotten tomatoes reporting that 35 out of the 38 reviews they tallied for the film were positive for a score of 92% and a certification of "fresh". Janet MaslinJanet Maslin
Janet Maslin is an American journalist, best known as a film and literary critic for The New York Times. She served as the Times film critic from 1977–1999.- Biography :...
, the film critic for The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, 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."
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
Personal boundaries
Personal boundaries are guidelines, rules or limits that a person creates to identify for him- or herself what are reasonable, safe and permissible ways for other people to behave around him or her and how he or she will respond when someone steps outside those limits.'Personal boundaries define...
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 (Míriam Colón), 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."
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 AwardsIndependent Spirit AwardsThe Independent Spirit Awards , founded in 1984, are awards dedicated to independent filmmakers. Winners were typically presented with acrylic glass pyramids containing suspended shoestrings representing the paltry budgets of independent films. In 1986, the event was renamed the Independent Spirit...
: 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 AwardsSatellite AwardsThe Satellite Awards are an annual award given by the International Press Academy. The awards were originally known as the Golden Satellite Awards.- Film :*Best Actor – Drama*Best Actor – Musical or Comedy*Best Actress – Drama...
: Golden Satellite Award; Best Motion Picture Screenplay - Original, John Sayles; 1997. - Society of Texas Film Critics AwardsSociety of Texas Film Critics Awards 1996The 3rd Society of Texas Film Critics Awards were given by the Society of Texas Film Critics on December 19, 1996. The list of winners was announced by STFC president Joe Leydon...
: Best Director, John Sayles; Best Screenplay, John Sayles. - Southeastern Film Critics AssociationSoutheastern Film Critics AssociationThe Southeastern Film Critics Association is an organization of film reviewers from publications based in the Southeastern United States....
Awards: SEFCA AwardSoutheastern Film Critics Association Awards 1996The 5th Southeastern Film Critics Association Awards, honoring the best in film for 1996, were held in January 1997.-Top 10 films:#Fargo#Lone Star#The English Patient *Academy Award for Best Picture*#The Crucible#Secrets & Lies...
; Best Director, John Sayles; 1997.
Nominations
- Academy AwardsAcademy AwardsAn Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
: Oscar; Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen, John Sayles; 1997. - Bravo Awards: NCLR Bravo Award; Outstanding Actor in a Feature Film, Tony Plana; 1996.
- British Academy of Film and Television ArtsBritish Academy of Film and Television ArtsThe British Academy of Film and Television Arts is a charity in the United Kingdom that hosts annual awards shows for excellence in film, television, television craft, video games and forms of animation.-Introduction:...
: BAFTA Film Award; Best Screenplay - Original, John Sayles; 1997. - Broadcast Film Critics Association AwardsBroadcast Film Critics Association AwardsThe Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards, commonly called the Critics' Choice Awards, are bestowed annually by the Broadcast Film Critics Association to honor the finest in cinematic achievement. Nominees are selected by written ballots in a week-long voting period, and are announced in...
: BFCA Award Best Picture; 1997. - Casting Society of AmericaCasting Society of AmericaFounded in Los Angeles, California in 1982, the Casting Society of America is a professional society of about 350 casting directors for film, television, and theatre in Australia, Canada, Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States. The society is not to be confused with an industry union. The...
: Artios; Best Casting for Feature Film, Drama, Avy Kaufman; 1997. - Chlotrudis AwardChlotrudis Awards 1997The 3rd Annual Chlotrudis Awards were presented in 1997 by the Chlotrudis Society for Independent Film.-Best Movie:Sling Blade* Beautiful Thing* Big Night* Fargo* Marvin's Room* Secrets & Lies-Best Director:...
: Chlotrudis Award, Best Actor, Chris Cooper; 1997. - Golden Globes: Golden Globe; Best Screenplay - Motion Picture, John Sayles; 1997.
- Independent Spirit AwardsIndependent Spirit AwardsThe Independent Spirit Awards , founded in 1984, are awards dedicated to independent filmmakers. Winners were typically presented with acrylic glass pyramids containing suspended shoestrings representing the paltry budgets of independent films. In 1986, the event was renamed the Independent Spirit...
: Independent Spirit Award; Best Feature, R. Paul Miller and Maggie Renzil; Best Male Lead, Chris Cooper; Best Screenplay, John Sayles; 1997. - Satellite AwardsSatellite AwardsThe Satellite Awards are an annual award given by the International Press Academy. The awards were originally known as the Golden Satellite Awards.- Film :*Best Actor – Drama*Best Actor – Musical or Comedy*Best Actress – Drama...
: Golden Satellite Award; Best Motion Picture - Drama, R. Paul Miller and Maggie Renzi; 1997. - Writers Guild of AmericaWriters Guild of AmericaThe Writers Guild of America is a generic term referring to the joint efforts of two different US labor unions:* The Writers Guild of America, East , representing TV and film writers East of the Mississippi....
: WGA Award (Screen); Best Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen, John Sayles; 1997.
External links
- Lone Star essay at Bad Subjects magazine by Tomás Sandoval (historical aspects of film)