Lone Star

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Lone Star

R

1996

2h 14m

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

91%

Tomatometer

140 Reviews

83%

Popcornmeter

5,000+ Ratings

In the Texas border town of Frontera, Sheriff Sam Deeds (Chris Cooper) digs up the past when he finds an old skull in the desert. As he traces the murder of Sheriff Charlie Wade (Kris Kristofferson) 40 years earlier, Deeds' investigation points toward his late father, the much-loved Deputy Buddy Deeds. Ignoring warnings not to delve any deeper, Sam rekindles a romance with his high school sweetheart while bringing up old tensions in the town and exposing secrets long put to rest.

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Critics Consensus

Smart and absorbing, Lone Star represents a career high point for writer-director John Sayles -- and '90s independent cinema in general.

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Peter Bradshaw

Guardian

Aug 15, 2024

5/5

one Star is a richly and densely achieved movie that gets a lot of storytelling done in two and a quarter hours; it is thoughtful and complex and grownup.

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Jake Cole

Slant Magazine

Jan 24, 2024

John Sayles’s Lone Star is among the most literary films ever made.

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Robert Faires

Austin Chronicle

Sep 6, 2023

4/5

Sayles is able to touch on the humanity of each [character] and the details of the region -- the heat, the beautiful but often unforgiving landscape, and especially the pride of the residents -- are vivid and true.

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Michael J. Casey

Boulder Weekly

Jan 25, 2024

5/5

If you haven’t seen "Lone Star" before, you’ll be gob-smacked a movie this good isn’t talked about more.

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Paul G

@RT00168898 Apr 18, 2026

Shockingly, mind-numbingly bad. The acting is laughably amateurish. The story is - no, it defines - insipid. There is one reason that this movie is acclaimed by today's critics and it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that out. Someone on here seriously analogized this to Chinatown. That is absurd.

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mark G

@Mark_Alan_G. Apr 10, 2026

As a Texan that spent plenty of time in South Texas, this film really speaks to me. The casting is great and the performances are strong, Chris Cooper is incredible. It's an ambitious film, and sometimes some of the subplots are left unexplored for 15-20 minutes at a time, but that's what comes with having a detailed plot. One of the general themes of the movie is secrets, and how those secrets can create misconceptions, and misconceptions shape us.

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ed m

@RT80499164 Dec 28, 2025

Excellent movie. Great story telling. Another great performance from Chris Cooper.

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thiago s

@Thiagostone Sep 5, 2025

Filme fraco, o roteiro é fraco, as cenas são fracas, a história é fraca, o elenco é fraco, e ninguém ajuda a melhorar o filme, os personagens são fracos, e o filme deveria ter cenas bem melhores e relevantes, para fazer o filme ser bom

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Brad S. R

@RT07389644 Mar 28, 2025

An excellent contemporary western/murder mystery from the ever-surprising John Sayles.

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Farah R

@Farah Dec 6, 2024

A well-written and brilliantly-acted drama, albeit slow, Lone Star offers an enriching viewing experience for movie lovers.

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John Sayles

Director

Chris Cooper

Sheriff Sam Deeds

Elizabeth Peña

Pilar Cruz

Joe Morton

Colonel Delmore Payne

Ron Canada

Otis Payne

Clifton James

Mayor Hollis Pogue

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Synopsis

In the Texas border town of Frontera, Sheriff Sam Deeds (Chris Cooper) digs up the past when he finds an old skull in the desert. As he traces the murder of Sheriff Charlie Wade (Kris Kristofferson) 40 years earlier, Deeds' investigation points toward his late father, the much-loved Deputy Buddy Deeds. Ignoring warnings not to delve any deeper, Sam rekindles a romance with his high school sweetheart while bringing up old tensions in the town and exposing secrets long put to rest.

Director: John Sayles
Producer: Maggie Renzi, R. Paul Miller
Screenwriter: John Sayles
Distributor: Columbia Pictures
Production Co: Castle Rock Entertainment, Columbia Pictures Corporation
Rating: R
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jun 21, 1996, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 1, 2014
Box Office (Gross USA): $13.1M
Runtime: 2h 14m
Sound Mix: Surround

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