When the skeleton of his murdered predecessor is found, Sheriff Sam Deeds unearths many other long-buried secrets in his Texas border town.When the skeleton of his murdered predecessor is found, Sheriff Sam Deeds unearths many other long-buried secrets in his Texas border town.When the skeleton of his murdered predecessor is found, Sheriff Sam Deeds unearths many other long-buried secrets in his Texas border town.
- Nominated for 1 Oscar
- 15 wins & 19 nominations total
- Priscilla Worth
- (as LaTanya Richardson)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThis film is known for its excellent use of live segues, in which scenes change within a single camera shot; in this case, shifting in back and forth through time in the same location.
- GoofsWhen Pvt Johnson is told she failed the drug test, the rank on her hat is upside down.
- Quotes
Cliff: I never thought I'd see that a buddy of mine would be dating a woman with three bars on her shoulder.
Mickey: I think it's beyond what you'd call dating.
Cliff: You're gonna get married?
Mickey: Maybe.
Cliff: You met her family? Think her family's gonna be OK that you're a white guy?
Mickey: They think any woman over 30 who isn't married is a lesbian. She figures, they'll be so relieved that I'm a man...
Cliff: Yeah, it's always heartwarming to see a prejudice defeated by a deeper prejudice.
"Lone Star" could have been a standard mystery. It could have been a 'modern Western', or it could have been a superficial race drama, but it is none of those things (at least not exclusively), it is a fascinating, subtle look at race relations in Texas, as well as at basic human nature. Unlike the contrived writing one would find in an 'Oscar bait' drama film, Sayles' interwoven plots don't feel forced simply because he sets them up so well. The depth and scale of the writing here is remarkable, especially because the film, with all its subplots and characters, never feels cluttered or unnatural. This is a character study of the highest order, and there's no point in discussing the actual events of the film further because this is a film that is best seen (or, indeed, read) with fresh eyes, and I'd hate to spoil that for readers who haven't seen the film.
It's a sad fact of life that directors like Sayles, who see films as stories that must be told, and direct them well, but without intrusive and obvious stylistic quirks, are less noticed than directors who practically beg for attention. That's not to say that this film is not well-made, because anyone with any sort of experience with technical details of cinema could tell you that it is a very well-shot and very well-edited film with excellent use of music. That said, this film is ultimately about the writing, and the acting, and both are absolutely superb, the standout from the latter category being Chris Cooper, who gives what is probably one of the nineties' best performances in this film.
10/10
- ametaphysicalshark
- Apr 29, 2008
- Permalink
- How long is Lone Star?Powered by Alexa
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $5,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $12,408,986
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $232,184
- Jun 23, 1996
- Gross worldwide
- $12,421,583
- Runtime2 hours 15 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1