What to Stream: Matthew McConaughey Lays Down the Law in 'Lone Star'

Lone Star (1996) iTunes, Amazon Instant, Google Play

The Basics: A Texas-set crime drama starring Chris Cooper, Matthew McConaughey, and Elizabeth Peña; directed by John Sayles
If You Liked: No Country for Old Men and The Departed
The Nugget: A local Texas sheriff investigates a cold-case murder near the Mexican border and uncovers dark family secrets in the process.

If you want an early hint of the McConassaince to come, check out a young Matthew McConaughey in John Sayles’ gothic tale of love and murder on the Texas-Mexican border. When a human skull is unearthed in the desert, local sheriff Sam Deeds (Chris Cooper) isn’t shocked when it turns out to be corrupt former lawman Charlie Wade (Kris Kristofferson) who disappeared one night 40 years ago. Sam’s prime suspect? His late, legendary father (played in flashbacks by McConaughey). The deeper Sam digs, the more his investigation leads into the dark alleys of his own family’s history and the violent past of a town where the vicious Wade once reigned. As slow and crushing as high summer in south Texas, Lone Star ends with a cold-water shock that takes days to fade. 

Photo credit: © Everett Collection