“LONE STAR”: Another recent Netflix gem. I don’t have the mental energy to put together a nicely-structured post, so here are some scattered thoughts, in no real order:

1. This movie made me realize how much I love the “investigating a long-past crime” storyline. Several of my favorite Agatha Christie novels have some variant on this plot; so does Josephine Tey’s wonderful Richard III apologia The Daughter of Time. With this plot you get an easy, suspenseful storyline that will pretty much force you to deal with the pull of the past: whether we can escape our histories, families, and cultures, and whether we should want to. You also get a very obvious way to ask, What’s the point of the truth? Why dig all this stuff up and cause trouble? And “Lone Star” hits all these points, following the repercussions of an investigation into the death of a corrupt sheriff in a small town on the Texas-Mexico border. It isn’t desperately new, but I don’t care, because it’s important, hooky, and well-done.

2. Lots of people say this movie is “novelistic,” and I see what they mean: It’s big and baggy and you have to mull for a while to figure out how the many, many plots and subplots reflect back on each other. I’m still not sure I have the timeline right. All the subplots do link up–even the one I’d initially thought might be unnecessary–in complex ways, not over-tidy ones.

3. This movie has great bit parts and minor characters. I always appreciate that. Also some excellent actors; my favorites were Miriam Colon as a ferocious Mexican widow and Joe Morton as a strict colonel.

4. The music is terrific.

5. I’m not sure about this–and I can’t make my case without major spoilers–but am I the only one who thinks the final scene contains a disturbing echo of the arguments made by the crazy white school board lady and the redneck barkeep? (CWSBL, by the way, was the only character who felt stereotyped. Oh and maybe Token Indian With Pointless Scene, too.)

6. Token Indian and Frances McDormand needed to have their scenes cut. This is a long movie and these scenes were completely unnecessary. I could also use maybe ten minutes less of the Sam/Pilar love story.

7. Griping aside, this movie is really good. I’m going to make The Rat watch it so we can chew on its themes and meanings a bit.