Daily Staff Writer

Sheriff Charley Wade (Kris Kristofferson) was a bad man. Through the 1950s, he ran Rio County in Texas with an iron fist. Everyone paid him off to keep the peace — or to keep him peaceful.

Legend had it that Deputy Buddy Deeds (Matthew McConaughey) delivered Rio from its oppressor.

Fed up with the corruption and brutality, he confronted Wade in a saloon and ran him out of town. Wade supposedly fled with $10,000 in county funds and was never seen again.

But legends don’t tell the whole truth. And the whole truth may not be desirable.

Such is the case in Lone Star, a film released last summer which is just now coming to Ames.

Buddy’s son, Sam (Chris Cooper), is now the sheriff; he was elected after Buddy’s death.

He is stuck in a tough spot, trying to live up to his father’s titanic reputation. The discovery of a skeleton on the local army post threatens to sully the Deeds legend. As the investigation deepens, the skeleton appears to be Charley Wade’s — and the evidence mounts that Buddy Deeds was responsible for the killing.

A struggle develops within Sam and within the community over what truth to believe.

The new courthouse is being named for Buddy; finding that he was a killer would ruin the celebration and destroy an important legend.

And Sam is discovering details about his father that are not pleasant. But Sam wants the real truth to come out, no matter the consequences.

Truth is the essence of Lone Star, a film so ambitious it nearly defies description. The Wade murder investigation frames the film, but it also looks at truth in American culture, race relations and in people’s personal pasts.

Amazingly, Lone Star works on all of its many levels. It is an outstanding film, written and directed and even edited by John Sayles, a man with a far-reaching vision. He should be up for Best Director and Best Original Screenplay at next year’s Oscars.

The film’s plot and story have incredible density. The story is told in non-linear fashion with flashbacks and transitions from current time to the 1950s and back.

The film’s characters are rich and detailed from top to bottom. The cast list includes 53 speaking roles, a truly massive number for a “small” independent film. There isn’t a poor performance in the entire film.

But Kristofferson absolutely kills as Sheriff Wade, in a blistering, Oscar-worthy performance. Other standouts include Joe Morton (T2) as the new army post commander and Frances McDormand (Fargo ) in a hilarious cameo as Bunny, Sam’s disturbed, football-obsessed ex-wife.

Lone Star requires some commitment on the viewer’s part. It is a long film and very detailed. But the commitment is worth the effort; it’s a great film.

---

Lone Star is rated R for language, violence and brief on-screen sex. It is also not a film for children by virtue of its deep subject matter.