Lone Star is, for better and for worse, an efficient encapsulation of the two things that make John Sayles films, well, John Sayles films: His earnest filmmaking and his egalitarianism towards his characters.
Eight Men Out is a pretty faithful and earnest retelling of the 1919 “Black Sox” Scandal…to the film’s detriment. More concerned with compiling a mostly historically accurate checklist of what transpired, perhaps Sayles’ script would have been better served by another...
The protagonist in The Brother From Another Planet doesn’t speak one word throughout the entire film but allows the people that he meets and the neighborhood in which he meets them to give us a realistic picture of what it’s like to...
Title: Lone Star Year: 1998 Director: John Sayles Cast: Chris Cooper, Elizabeth Pena, Matthew McConaughey, Kris Kristofferson, Joe Morton, Frances McDormand Synopsis: Sheriff Sam Deeds (Cooper) presides over a seemingly-quiet Texas border town. However, literal and figurative skeletons are dug...
He was tutored by Roger Corman, like Coppola, Scorsese, and Dante. He’s worked with actors like Chris Cooper, Matthew McConaughey, David Strathairn, and Angela Bassett. He’s done script doctoring on notable films like Apollo 13 and Mimic. He’s received two Oscar nominations for...
Title: Passion Fish Year: 1992 Director: John Sayles Cast: Mary McDonnell, Angela Bassett, Alfre Woodard, Lenore Banks Synopsis: When famous soap actress May-Alice Culhane (McDonnell) is paralyzed from the waist down, she encounters a series of struggles. Her fall from...
Title: The Secret of Roan Inish Year: 1994 Director: John Sayles Cast: Jenny Courtney, Eileen Colgan, Mick Lally, John Lynch, Pat Slowly, Declan Hannigan, Dave Duffy Synopsis: A ten-year-old Fiona is sent to live with her grandparents in the quiet...
Lately, as America’s center of political power keeps turning and turning in the widening gyre and things fall apart in Washington DC, I find myself reflecting on the last Republican presidency. With Donald Trump refusing to offend the disgusting racists...
