MOVIE ESSAY: Lonestar
Lone Star is the creation of triple threat writer-director-editor John Sayles. Taking place in the 1990’s in the heart of Texas, this film gathers an ensemble of characters and throws them into three stories rolled into one. There is the murder mystery regarding a human skull that was discovered buried in the sand, which Sheriff Sam Deeds (Chris Cooper) takes upon himself to solve; the romantic love story involving Deeds and his teenage love Pilar Cruz (Elizabeth Pena); and the social connection between numerous diverse people and that mysterious human skull. This film deals with border Texas where people of different ethnicities face difficult social issues concerning political and economical stature, identity, and history. In this case, every character and story has one of those issues to deal with. One of the major and most noticeable themes of Lone Star are boundaries, and the lines that get crossed when social, political, economic, or historical margins are interweaved.
Sayles provides the audience with the interconnection of boundaries through the touch of editing when he goes from present to past or vise versa. The continuum of the flashbacks is exemplified by the numerous transition shots. For example, when Deeds and Pilar reunite they take a walk down a pathway by a lake they used to frequent as teenagers. The audience does not know that this was their hang out in the past until Pilar departs leaving Deeds looking off into the sky, and then with a slight pan of the camera the shot reveals two young teens playing in the same location. As the audience, we figure that this was the couple years ago when they were still together. The continuous pan without a cut or cliché flashback effect gives us the feel that not much has changed from then to now. In Lone Star, there is no unambiguous parallel between what happened 'then' and what is happening 'now', because they come off as indissoluble.
The past and present is what the majority of the characters are struggling with throughout the film, which falls under the social/history boundaries. There is Sam Deeds, who takes on the role of detective in solving the case of the mysterious human skull. Never having much pride in his father (who was a sheriff as well) Deeds is determined to prove that his father was behind the murder. Mercedes Cruz (Miriam Colon), who is Pilar’s entrepreneur immigrant mother, insists that her Mexican employees speak English being that they are on American soil, because she herself is trying very hard to suppress her Mexican heritage, and the fact that she came to Texas on illegal terms. Sam Deeds and Pilar Cruz throughout the movie go back and forth from their past relationship to their present reminiscing, and wrestling with the “what if’s”. Colonel Delmore Payne (Joe Morton) is still stuck on the past between his father, Otis Payne (Ron Canada), who is owner of Big O’s (a predominantly African American bar/nightclub) who abandoned him and his mother when he was young, and is reluctant to make amends with that. The Colonel’s teenage son, Chet Payne (Eddie Robinson), feels as if it’s his obligation to follow in his fathers’ footsteps as far as his future career goes, yet he has no interest in that field (just like Sam and Colonel himself refused to be molds of their fathers). And lastly, although a minor character, there is a Private Athena Johnson (Chandra Wilson), under the Colonel's authority, who is struggling with her past with drugs. Colonel eventually sees her struggle to stay clean, and make herself anew, and cuts her some slack.
There is also a scene in the film that can easily be overlooked, which deals with PTA members at a meeting where we are first introduced to Pilar. The topic of discussion is whether or not to teach the Mexican version of history as oppose to the Anglo-American one. As overlooked as this scene may be, it holds a big message about boundaries, and how far they can be crossed. How much of a new teaching system can they possibly impose without crossing the line to the “taboo” side?
Politics (the law and justice) also has its boundaries in Lone Star. In Sam Deed’s eyes, politics is and will always be conniving, and that his father had a lot to do with how unlawful politics was around the county. As Deeds seeks further into the realm of the case of his fathers’ past actions with Sherif Charlie Wade (who Deeds believes the skull is the remains of) he begins to realize not only are there visible differences between the law and justice, but his father isn’t so evil after all. He discovers that although his father did partake in illegal actions (killing Wade, and stealing $10,000 to help Mercedes start her restaurant business), he was doing it in the name of justice while Wade’s actions were all in the name of greed (killing Mercedes’ first husband in cold blood for no reason, and being a bigot around town with no heart or soul in the world for the law).
The last, and probably the most shocking situation in the film is that of Sam Deeds and Pilar Cruz. These two characters embody all the themes of the film. As the audience already knew from flashbacks, stories, and present interaction, both were romantically involved at one point, and attempting to rekindle what they had as teenagers after their reunion. But, in the last scene of the film, one that should be focused on as the example of every form of border crossed, they are faced with a brand new fact.
What was once a lively and active drive-in movie theater, which we are first introduced to in a flashback scene where Sam and Pilar are on a date, is now shown abandoned, vacant and very miserable looking. Sam is on top of his car looking distraught and contemplative when Pilar pulls up in her car. She walks out and sits beside Sam happy to see him at first, and then concerned for his gloomy look. They sit there for a second breathing in what was once a part of their teenage happiness before Sam begins to tell Pilar that there is a possibility that they are half-brother and sister. Apparently, Buddy Deeds had an off-the-radar relationship with Mercedes Cruz, which could be the result of Pilar’s birth.
A social border is crossed, which is the most obvious: Sam and Pilar are of different races and heritage, and the fact that both of their parents engaged in a sexual relationship is a double whammy. A political border is crossed, because if they are indeed siblings it would be illegal for them to remain together as a couple. And, the past vs. present border (also the history) is crossed in various ways. There are two things balancing off their past, one being that their parents might’ve been together, and the other is that Sam and Pilar were together.
The dialogue in this scene gives off the idea of ‘what’s history is history’, meaning they are willing to drop their social, political, and the history they share for the sake of starting all over, and not dwelling on the past.
Sam: If I met you today, I'd still want to be with you.
Pilar: We start from scratch? All that other stuff-- all that history... to hell with it, right? Forget the Alamo.
While Sam is telling Pilar the story of his father and her mother the camera captures him in a medium shot alone, and once Pilar responds she is in the frame individually also medium shot. However, when Pilar and Sam come to terms with the fact that they could possibly be half-siblings the camera captures them together in a medium shot. The both of them in one shot signifies their coming together, and coping with this as a couple. This shot is continuous until the dialogue ends, they are left starring at the blank wall in front of them capturing their thoughts, and it cuts to a long shot of them still sitting, yet seen from a distance. Their distance in the frame shows the end of the story, and the beginning of something the audience is no longer apart of.
Ending the film in a location that they shared a date with until Buddy invaded and separated the two is symbolic, because that was probably the last time they saw each other until their sudden reunion years later. And here they are sitting in the same area that is now deserted, feeling discarded and confused as ever themselves. Forgetting the history, the past, and the flashbacks, what they are embarked with now is the thought of the future; their future.
