A wonderful film. I had heard a lot about this movie and the director, John Sayles. Never seen one of his movies, but he was supposed to be the last of the great independent directors. He certainly delivers in Lone Star. The best thing about the movie, is that it just isn't one story, it's a lot of stories some interconnecting, some by themselves, but all wonderful to watch. I suppose the main storyline is about a small town sheriff named Sam (Chris Cooper) who is living in the shadow of his father. His father Buddy (played in flashbacks by the ever popular Matthew McConaughey) was also a sheriff in the same town, and according to local legend, the best thing to ever happen to the town. Before Buddy became sheriff, the town was ruled over by the previous sheriff, Charlie Wade (Kris Kristofferson). Wade was a bad man, who would rather shoot a man in the back than let him have a few dollars. Wade dissapeared one day, and in present day a skeleton is found, buried in the desert, which turns out to be Wade. Sam thinks his father might have killed Wade, and he just wants to find the truth.
There are other stories as well, including a man returning to the town where his father lives, years after his father deserted the family. And a love story between two people, kept apart by their parents, who find each other years later. At two hours and fifteen minutes, I was afraid the movie would run forever, but it was captivating. The story moves along in such a way that each scene is important, and I wanted to find out what happened to everybody. One of the better films I've rented in recent memory.