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A+ |
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A+ |
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A+ |
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A+ |
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The Great Movies: Lone Star
by Eric (movies profile)
Sep 7, 2007
4
of
4 people found this review helpful
Two men pace around an abandoned military firing range discussing the ignorance of people's perceptions as they salvage for old bullets to make into art. The scene gets interesting when one of the men finds a skull. Where in an average film, this would be the start of a murder mystery. In the world of Writer/Director John Sayles, this is beginning of a catalyst of personal choices and connections of a handful of people who are connected to an event almost forty years prior.
To talk about Lone Star isn't to talk about the murder, but to talk about those who are affected by the outcome, most of which even after the mystery is solved will never know exactly how they're affected. The dead man's identity is quickly revealed as Charlie Wade (Kris Kristopherson), a sheriff of Rio County and from the stories you hear, the worst man you'll ever meet. His successor, Buddy Deeds (Matthew McConaughey) is considered a legend in present times, about to have his name plastered on the courthouse. His son Sam (Chris Cooper) is now sheriff, but not because he wants the job. He's there to get away from a life that was less suitable than the one he has now. "I'm just a jailer" he says with resentment. "The job wasn't what I thought it would be". But there might be a second chance with a high school sweetheart Pilar (Elizabeth Pena), and the chance to dispell the legend that his father had cast with his investigation.
But this film isn't entirely about Sam, but also about people like Otis (Ron Canada), whose trying to get a second chance with his estranged son (Joe Morton) and a budding relationship with his grandson. It's about Pilar's mother (Miriam Colon), who is a successful businesswoman in town using migrant workers but requires they speak English in her presence. And I haven't even talked about only half of the characters in this film.
Lone Star is a Texas tale, but in the same sense Taxi Driver is a New York tale. You can change the scene, but it wouldn't feel natural. Border towns in Texas have an almost forced integration of many personalities who thrive and depend on each other. Racism won't get you too far when three-quarters of your population is held by other races.
This film is also about the culture shock of a changing of the ethnic guard occurs, where hispanic leaders emerge to take over where white leaders used to thrive. There's a great scene near the beginning of the film with Pilar discussing to white and hispanic parents about the way she teaches a non-biased look of Texas History. A white mother shouts appaulingly "that's what I'm concerned about!".
And on top of all this is something I have not really seen in other movies: Characters are given the chance to think about things, to mill them over and to make important decisions not on the fly, but in moments of reflection. The final scene is a perfect illustration of this. It's easy to see love conquering all if there's not that much to risk. Sam and Pilar deeply love each other, no one can deny that. But the last roadblock (and revelation) is so cruel that any choice made is cruel. I love Pilar's line when the film ends, "Forget the Alamo". When you realize the context she's using that, you'll understand why I love it.
But this isn't like Altman's work in Nashville where everything overlaps. These characters are bound by the death of a bad man in very small but significant ways. And for me to say anything about how they are connected would be to say too much.
It's not difficult to see what John Sayles is interested in this film for. If you watch each scene, you'll see that as much as they're connected to the whole in small ways, that they also play as self-sufficient character scenes with dialogue that touches the right moment with the right impact. Take a scene like where the two men who found the skull talk later in the film about marriage while working with shells. It doesn't require you to see the other scenes to enjoy this scene. In fact, most of the scenes have two or more characters bonding through communication.
I'm so glad that Chris Cooper is now as big a name as he is. There's not many actors who are able to display the wide range of emotions as he can. From rugged to sullen, witty to cruel, he's been looked over for years. With Sam, he gives a performance that generates sympathy for a man who should have led a different life. Take a scene where he listens to his ex-wife (Francis MacDormand) with sweet concern, but also a hint of meloncholly. But I am in love with Elizabeth Pena in this film. This woman caught in a mix of feelings and sensations about her second chance with Sam blended in with the grown-up maturity of a mother of two teenagers. When a conversation comes up about teenage love, she doesn't condescend it because she knows it's power all too well. But I also love Ron Canada's performance as a man who never quite left his son's life, but has made choices that have left his son with a bitter anger towards him.
And yet this film does have a mystery to it. And yet it doesn't really take much precidence. Sayles is too interested in the characters and ideas to be bogged down into simple terms. He's more interested letting characters choosing their own fates over giving us a rehash of clues and sleuthing. Besides, this is Texas. The only use for a magnifying lens is to burn ant hills. |
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