Lone Star

In a small Texas border town, Sheriff Sam Deeds stumbles onto a long-buried mystery when a skeleton is discovered in the desert, along with a sheriff's badge and other items. The remains belong to Charlie Wade, a corrupt lawman who vanished decades earlier, and suspicion falls on Buddy Deeds, Sam's late father and the revered former sheriff whom the town is preparing to honour. As Sam investigates, he uncovers other secrets the community has kept buried, including his own history with Pilar Cruz, and finds that the past weighs heavily on the present.

John Sayles wrote and directed the film, which sits between City of Hope and Limbo in his filmography. Chris Cooper plays Sam, with Elizabeth Peña as Pilar, Kris Kristofferson as Charlie Wade, Clifton James as Mayor Hollis Pogue, Miriam Colon as Mercedes Cruz and Ron Canada as Otis Payne. The production cost about 5 million dollars and returned roughly 12 million worldwide. On IMDb it holds 7.4 from 35,000 votes, while on TMDB it has 7 out of 10 from 433 votes; critics rated it 8.8 from 140 reviews, higher than both audience scores.