LONE STAR
A film review by Michael John Legeros
Copyright 1996 Michael John Legeros
(Sony)
Directed by John Sayles
Written by John Sayles
Cast Chris Cooper, Elizabeth Pena, Joe Morton, Ron Canada,
Miriam Colon, Clifton James, Kris Kristofferson, Matthew
McConaughey
MPAA Rating "R" (presumably for violence and language)
Running Time 135 minutes
Reviewed at The Rialto, Raleigh, NC (6JUL96)
==
There's a lot of machinery at work in this multigenerational and multiethnic drama from writer/director/everything else John Sayles (PASSION FISH, EIGHT MEN OUT). Set on the Texas side of the Mexican border, LONE STAR follows Rio County Sheriff Sam Deeds (Chris Cooper, inexplicably wincing and frowning through the entire thing) as he attempts to solve a 40-year old murder mystery with apparent ties to every prominent person in the county, including himself. Mr. Sayles has cast, oh, at least a hundred speaking parts in his 135-minute saga and the confusion over "who's who?" begins early. (Due, in part, to a weak sound recording that often renders the dialogue difficult to understand. How about handing out a program, someone?) The cast is expectedly diverse and includes Clifton James, Kris Kristofferson, and newcomer Matthew McConaughey, as well as regular Sayles items Joe Morton and Elizabeth Pena. However, as everything about this movie feels so... over-staged, hardly anyone is given the breathing room to make a believable impression. We're presented with volumes of information about these people, their lives, and their lifestyles, and we couldn't care less.
Grade: C+
--
Mike Legeros - Raleigh, NC
legeros@nando.net (h) - legeros@unx.sas.com (w)
Visit me in MOVIE HELL
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