--- title: "Lone Star: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/lone-star/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/lone-star" critics_score: 85 critics_reviews: 11 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Lone Star (1996): what the critics said Critics' score 85 from 11 reviews: 11 positive, 0 mixed, 0 negative. The reviews are uniformly favourable, and the praise gathers around John Sayles’s construction. Critics admire how he holds dozens of characters and interlocking storylines together in a Texas border town, using a decades-old murder as the spine for a study of how the past presses on the present. The flashbacks, the unhurried conversations and the attention to racial and family history are singled out again and again, and several of the 1996 notices call it his best work to that point. The ensemble draws consistent praise, with Chris Cooper, Frances McDormand, Matthew McConaughey and Kris Kristofferson named most often. The spread is narrow; nobody dislikes it. The coolest voices are The Independent, which finds the late revelations contrived and short on emotional force, and The New Yorker, which rates it as solid rather than remarkable. Later reviews, from 2021 onwards, tend to argue the film was overlooked and is due another look. ## Empire — Kim Newman Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 21 June 1996. Sayles remains an eclectic and intelligent filmmaker whose work ranges widely while unified by commitment. The film engages fully with its large cast and gradual plot revelations, functioning as both a morality play and essay on American history, and is outstanding. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/lone-star-2-review/) ## RogerEbert.com — Roger Ebert Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 3 July 1996. The film humbles ordinary movies with its subtle construction and deep reach, using a murder mystery and romance as a spine while exploring how the past haunts the present in a Texas border town. It ranks as Sayles' best work yet, a great American movie that regards with open eyes the way people live together across racial and historical lines. [Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/lone-star-1996) ## Slant Magazine — Jake Cole Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 22 January 2024. The critic lauds the film's complex neo-western noir structure as one of the most literary films, singling out its reckoning with personal and historical skeletons through varied flashback styles and nuanced character interactions that reveal denial of the past. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/lone-star-4k-blu-ray-review-john-sayles/) ## The New York Times — Janet Maslin Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 21 June 1996. Lone Star stands as a peak in Sayles' career, a great stirring epic that delivers a vibrant history lesson about a Texas border town through its complex, beautifully told tale of cultural, racial, economic and familial tensions. The director handles dozens of characters and interwoven storylines with soft-spoken grace, making every moment feel utterly right. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/1996/06/21/movies/film-review-sleepy-texas-town-with-an-epic-story.html) ## Variety — Joe Leydon Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 17 March 1996. Festival review. Bountifully rich in incident and characterization, the film recalls Sayles' City of Hope but focuses on a small Texas border town where the sins of fathers haunt sons. It is a richly textured and thoroughly engrossing drama that ranks with his finest work, with a strong ensemble and vivid conveyance of racial and ethnic diversity. [Read the review](https://variety.com/1996/film/reviews/lone-star-3-1200445290/) ## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 14 August 2024. The critic finds the 1996 film a richly achieved, thoughtful and complex drama about racial divisions, history and family secrets in a Texas border town. They single out its powerful performances and distinctive storytelling approach for praise. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/article/2024/aug/14/lone-star-review-john-sayles-chris-cooper-kris-kristofferson-matthew-mcconaughey) ## The AV Club — John Krewson Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 29 March 2002. The critic praises Sayles' use of the police procedural format for his interwoven storytelling about a 40-year-old murder in a Texas border town, highlighting the thoughtful exploration of what people keep from themselves and each other through unhurried conversations and flashbacks, turning it into something richer than a mere mystery. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/lone-star-1798194764) ## The New Yorker — Anthony Lane Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 1 July 1996. The critic finds the film nourishing fare compared to big action movies, praising its mindful handling of violence, complex narrative linking past and present in a Texas border town, and strong performances, especially Kris Kristofferson's. It is described as a pretty good film with weight and substance. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1996/07/08/lone-stars) ## The Independent Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 11 October 1996. The film interweaves numerous characters' lives in a complex drama but feels contrived in its revelations, lacking emotional impact. Sayles excels with actors, drawing strong performances, and the time shifts create a lyrical timelessness. [Read the review](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/new-films-5596410.html) ## The Ringer — Adam Nayman Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 21 June 2021. The critic praises the film's thoughtful, hard-edged sociological storytelling and moral complexity, noting it respects the audience's intelligence. They single out its depiction of conflicting identities and agendas in a border town, and Sayles's skill in building scenes and critiquing institutions. [Read the review](https://www.theringer.com/2021/06/21/movies/lone-star-john-sayles-texas-cop-chris-cooper-matthew-mcconaughey) ## Collider — Liam Gaughan Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 8 August 2023. The critic calls John Sayles' 1996 film brilliant and a worthwhile neo-noir Western that deserves to be revisited after being overlooked by time. They single out the emotional investigation into family legacy, the mythologization of law enforcement, and strong performances from Chris Cooper, Frances McDormand, and Matthew McConaughey. [Read the review](https://collider.com/matthew-mcconaughey-lone-star/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/lone-star.md