Lone Star

John Sayles, USA 1995, 135 minutes

John Sayles, ever the veteran liberal of American Independent Cinema, again proves his talent providing a highly detailed and inter-woven classic that will keep you guessing until the last minute.

The film is set in Rio County, Texas (on the border with Mexico). A human skeleton and sheriff's badge are found. and Sheriff Sam Deeds (an excellent and unstated performance by Chris Cooper) finds it is indeed the body of one of his predecessors, Charley Wade (one of the best performance's of Kris Kristofferson since his Cliff Richard impression in Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia!). All the signs point to a killing by Buddy Deeds (Wade's successor, local hero and Sam's father).

The film deals with morality and honour (as with other good Westerns and in the tradition of The Wild Bunch) when firmly connected to power and the political process. The film also works on other levels, dealing with the changing and increasingly unrepresentative face of politics in the local town which is progressively becoming more and more Hispanic.

The film is beautifully shot and has sub-plots and strands meandering back and forth throughout the film as we cut back into the past. Although, as with much of Sayles work, one might feel it a little over long at its 135 minute running time, Sayles uses the time to create a sense of community and provide a depth of character analysis and storytelling rarely seen in modern cinema.

As with earlier Sayles works (see Return of the Secaucus Seven, screened earlier this year), he uses an ingenious inter-cutting plot and a stunningly clever and tight script to compensate for the lack of budget. He provides an invisible hand that gently guides us through the film, turning us this way and that before providing a punchline almost as unexpected (or more so) than that of The Crying Game.

Don't miss.

Review by Stephen J Brennan
Taken from EUFS Programme 1997-98