Great movie.Even better than expected. Billed as a murder-mystery, it is that, and more. The murder-mystery part is very original and intriguing, and you're kept guessing right to the end. Around this, writer-director John Sayles spins several human-drama stories, spanning 40 years, each of which deserve a movie of their own. Even the relationships side is not without intrigue, so the whole movie requires you to piece together the puzzle, like a good drama should.Superb performance by Chris Cooper in the lead role. How he didn't get an Oscar nomination, I don't know. Good support from Elizabeth Pena, Joe Morton and Kris Kristofferson. Matthew McConaughey's character, though crucial to the plot, has very little screen time. Minor appearance from Frances McDormand too.

It's implied on the box for "Lone Star" that Kris Kristofferson takes center stage as an monstrously corrupt sheriff (which I took to mean something like Denzel in "Training Day"). And though he is wicked, he's much more a fringe player. That was a surprise, but it turned out to be far from unpleasant. This movie is much more complicated than that; its Texas border town steeped in fictionalized history, where prejudices are ingrained and everything - right down to the characters - is more complex than at first glance. It's a procedural, but slow-burning and character-driven, and I found myself caring deeply for these people (Cooper and Peña, especially). It's very well cast (Frances McDormand's a trip in this movie) and the flashbacks are handled seamlessly with a subtle camera move. And the final fifteen minutes makes for some of the finest cinema pay-off ever, where everything finally gets laid out and you're treated to a series of narrative punches to the face.Very well done.8/10

John Sayles is regarded as one of the best independent film-makers about and Lone Star is a film of a man in full throttle. Its a set of interwoven stories set in two time periods as Chris Cooper a border town sheriff who has returned to his home town where his father was a legendary Sheriff investigates a 40 year old murder that may have been committed by his own father. He also rekindles a romance with a childhood, Hispanic sweetheart that his father was very much against at the time.The film is foremost a murder mystery but also deals with issues of police corruption, illegal immigration, justice, politics and racism. Sayles was rightly nominated for an Oscar for his screenplay.Chris Cooper holds the film as the dogged sheriff. Kriss Kristofferson and Matthew McConaughey make effective cameos in flashback scenes. There is a strange cameo from Frances McDormand as Cooper's ex-wife who is dealing with mental health issues which probably led to their divorce.The film is thoughtful, provocative and requires attention. Its not a slam bang or a slow burner. Many multiple stories come together as the past comes to haunt the present and relationships are made clearer.

Sam Deeds is the son of a late but much beloved Texas county sheriff who has inherited his father's job. But when a body is dug up from forty years ago and Sam investigates he discovers his father's illustrious past contains some dark and painful secrets ...This Texican murder mystery is one of Sayles' many beautifully constructed and densely populated character dramas (see also City Of Hope and Sunshine State) where, as with so much of his work, every single person is interesting, thoughtful and fully-rounded. This film is also a beautiful example of how to elegantly switch a narrative back and forward through two different eras, both visually through lovely little panning shots which dip in and out of time, and plot-wise as gradually the gauze covering the complex relationships is slowly lifted to reveal what has made the characters who they are. This is immensely satisfying as the pieces fit together, delicately played by a sensational ensemble cast who understand exactly what the story is trying to achieve. Cooper and Peña are both superb as the middle-aged leads, both working county jobs, both struggling to find any meaning to their lives, both unable to move on from a fateful past together. The older actors steal the show with irascible wit, and pragmatism and regret written in equal measure on their faces - Canada in particular is outstanding - and Morton is terrific as ever in one of many parts for Sayles as the no-nonsense army man forced to embrace the tenderness he has long considered a weakness. Perhaps the casting masterstroke though is country legend Kristofferson as the thoroughly evil ghost from the past, whose violent brand of personal justice is horrifyingly plausible. Full of poignant moments, clever misdirection, evocative locations, heartfelt performances and funny lines (when Sam is headed to Mexico and tells a colleague he's going to "the other side", the response is "Republicans ?"), with a fine story and a great ending, this is high quality drama all the way. Shot in the beautiful south-western Texas border cities of Del Rio, Eagle Pass and Laredo.