Four Stars For ‘Lone Star’ Sayles Continues To Probe America’s Psyche

History, as a character in John Sayles’ new film “Lone Star” says, is defined by the victors. Those who remain standing after geo-political struggles, he claims, earn ultimate “bragging rights.”

The truthfulness of that sentiment rests at the heart of Sayles’ film, which is only the latest evidence that he deserves the title of Great American Filmmaker. In such works as “Matewan,” “City of Hope,” “Passion Fish,” “The Return of the Secaucus 7” and “Eight Men Out,” Sayles has probed the varied facets of America’s psyche as well as any filmmaker ever has.

And “Lone Star” is distinctly American, in all senses of the word. Set in the small Texas border town of Perdido (which translates as Lost), “Lone Star” is ostensibly about the unraveling of a puzzle, namely, the apparent murder of a hated lawman some 40 years in the past.

But what the film really does is examine the myth of the American melting pot and how contemporary life is affected when cultural bragging rights get threatened.

It also has a lot to say about the relationship between parents and children, particularly about the relationship between Rio County Sheriff Sam Deeds (Chris Cooper) and his late father, the legendary Buddy Deeds (Matthew McConaughey).

Sam is the gentle, sad-faced man who has returned to Perdido after a years-long absence only to find himself, at the request of Perdido’s power brokers, trying to fill his father’s lawman footsteps. But it’s clear to everyone that he’s only a pale comparison.

As one woman tells him, “Sheriff Deeds is dead. You only Sheriff junior.”

After a couple of off-duty soldiers find the skeleton of a man that Sam suspects is that of another legendary sheriff, the brutally corrupt Charlie Wade (Kris Kristofferson), Sam sets off to solve the crime. But he wants to do more than just close the books on an unsolved case; Sam, still holding a grudge against his father, wants to show that Buddy was the killer.

That sets him off on a tour of the past, which Sayles portrays through flashbacks that flow seamlessly - over a plate of beans and rice, along a dusty riverbank - from one scene to the next.

What Sam eventually finds is not the black-and-white truth that he wanted. Like most of reality, the truth here tends toward various shades of gray. And a person’s inherent goodness is often just a case of situational ethics - capable of being portrayed anyway you want to see it, depending on mood and emotion.

As with his other movies, Sayles fills in the blank spots with a variety of secondary characters. They include the discipline-minded commander of the local Army base (Joe Morton), whose estranged father (Ron Canada) runs the local nightclub that caters to the fort’s black soldiers. There’s also Sam’s teen love, Pilar (Elizabeth Pena), who teaches history at the local high school and fights her mother (Miriam Colon) over both cultural and family issues.

There are even others, including soldiers caught up in racial issues, city officials attempting to weather the political firestorms and those campesinos from south of the border who come north in search of what they hope will be a better life.

True to Sayles’ style, too, is the uniformly good acting, especially that of the sadly underused Cooper. Morton, Pena, Colon and newcomer McConaughey (in what is little more than a cameo) are also good, though Kristofferson makes the biggest impact as a sociopathic thug.

While it may be best experienced during a second viewing, when all of Sayle’s masterful storytelling techniques are clearer to see, “Lone Star” ranks with the very best of the director’s work. The film’s overall blend of character and commentary adds up to a knowing, intelligent and ultimately passionate look at life on the new American frontier.

The lessons that Sayles passes on, though, apply to all of America. It is, finally, time to forget the Alamo.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: “LONE STAR” Location: Magic Lantern Cinemas Credits: Written, edited and directed by John Sayles, starring Chris Cooper, Elizabeth Pena, Joe Morton, Kris Kristofferson, Matthew McConaughey, Ron Canada, Clifton James and Miriam Colon. Rated: Rated R. Running time: 2:27