Opened 25 years ago this weekend. One of the most acclaimed films of 1996, and of writer/director John Sayles, currently with the old-ass overpriced DVD available from third-party sellers on Amazon and it's not on Blu-ray (a nice HD print is available to rent on Amazon Prime). LONE STAR may feel unjustly forgotten but it's even more prescient today, with its ensemble characters dealing with family conflicts, buried secrets, racism, prejudice, politics, corruption, and everything else. Everyone in this cast is a standout, even those with little screen time: on the cusp of stardom, Matthew McConaughey only has three scenes but his presence looms large over the entire 135-minute running time, rivaled by Kris Kristofferson as one of the '90s most unrepentantly loathsome villains. I forgot Frances McDormand was in this and she turns in a great one-scene performance in the same year as FARGO, released several months earlier.

Other than a couple of clumsy exposition drops that stand out because they're awkwardly wedged-in to otherwise completely natural dialogue, LONE STAR is the kind of engrossing, absorbing work that unfolds like a good book that you can't put down. It's unlikely this would even be a feature film today--with its large ensemble, its multiple narratives, and taking place over two time periods 30 years apart, this would have "limited series on HBO or Netflix" written all over it.